Father of the Child
by Sceaduw
Summary: It isn't Allen. Lavi swears it isn't him. Kanda decides to keep quiet. Tyki is still on the run. So who's the culprit?   A short story after 'You May  Not!  Kiss The Bride'.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own the Dgrayman characters, this is done solely for the sake of fan-girlism and avoidance of real work in life.

Forewords: This story is especially for LizluvsSpongebob and folks that wanted more :3  
It's not exactly an epilogue, but I hope you will like it. Just a silly short story after 'You May (Not!) Kiss The Bride'. As always, feedbacks and comments are welcomed and appreciated!

**Father of the Child**

by Sceaduw

_{Part I}_

Ever since the blood ceremony, Allen had not been assigned on a mission together with Lenalee. Thanks to Komui, dedicating his life to keep them apart. Even though they were supposed to be married, the only way for Allen to see Lenalee was through surveillance monitors. It had been four months. He really missed her. He even had leftovers from his meals.

Today, Lenalee, Lavi and Kanda would be back from a mission in Turkey. Allen was prepared for the deathtraps set ahead of him. He swore he would give Lenalee a big warm hug and... a little kiss maybe. The boy blushed and put on his causal suit. He smiled into the mirror. He smirked handsomely and his master's golem fluttered around his head in excitement.

"Wish me luck, Timcampy!" whispered the boy as he went to open the door. Komui could not catch him this time! The man would never expect him to get up at two in the morning when Lenalee would not be back until ten.

Full of confidence, Allen turned the door knob. Before he knew it, he was lying on the floor, staring at the ceiling. He thought he heard his bones crackled. The door had exploded by itself. Allen was unable to move from where he was landed by the blast. However, he did not feel any pain.

"Oh dear Lord! What on earth happened?" exclaimed a shadow among the heavy smoke. It was Komui, with a gas mask, also up and already around at two in the morning. The reflection on his glasses beamed with triumphant. Damn it! Allen underestimated Komui again. He swore the man was trying to suppress his laughter when he came to take a closer look at him. It only took a minute for the medical team to come to retrieve the immobilized exorcist.

"Don't worry, Allen," smiled Komui wickedly, "I'm sure the anesthetic will wear off by tomorrow!" He waved goodbye to the boy cheerfully as he watched Allen being carried off to the hospital wing.

.

.

When the exorcists returned, Lenalee gave her brother a big hug before she started to look around for Allen. He was not anywhere in sight again. She pouted. Reever told her Allen would be in the HQ when she came back. Somehow, she felt Allen was deliberately avoiding her after the wedding. She seldom got to see him around anymore. Was this what General Klaud warned her about? That guys somehow transformed themselves after marriage?

"What's wrong, Lenalee?" asked Komui, "Are you injured in the mission?" He was worried by the sudden depressed look on his sister's face.

"Come on, Komui! There's no way Lenalee's going to be hurt with us around!" said Lavi proudly as he patted the man on the shoulder. The past mission was a piece of cake. "I'm starving! Yu, are you coming to the canteen with me?" asked the orange haired exorcist.

"Don't call me by my first name!" sneered Kanda, "I hope they have soba today." They turned towards Lenalee but the girl shook her head. She was in no mood for food.

"I'm fine, brother. Sorry, Lavi, I'll join up with you guys later. I need to go to have a checkup first," smiled Lenalee and she ran off.

"Lenalee!" shouted Komui as he rushed after her. What checkup? Was she hurt in battle? Was there something wrong with her Innocence? Lavi and Kanda looked at each other blankly. They ran after the siblings immediately.

"STAY OUT and BE QUIET!" roared the Head Nurse in the inspection room. Lenalee sat on a chair and waited as the mighty nurse shoved Komui out of the room. She locked the door and placed the key in her pocket. The nurse turned back to the girl and she smiled. "How are you feeling, my dear? Now, let me see your wounds." said the nurse kindly but Lenalee shook her head.

"I am not hurt, Head Nurse... I...," stammered Lenalee. She lowered her head, not knowing how to break it out. The nurse patted her on the back gently.

"Don't worry dear, you are safe with me. Tell me," she said kindly. Lenalee hesitated and then took a deep breath.

"My period... hasn't come for two months," mumbled the girl shyly.

The door of the inspection room crashed down as two guys came crashing into the room along with the door. Kanda was the only one who was decent enough not to eavesdrop on Lenalee's privacy. But he already knew the situation, judging by the reactions of the other two.

"W-WHAAT!" cried Komui and Lavi together, faces twisted beyond recognition with horror and rage.

Kanda sighed. He was not a bit surprised by Lenalee's health condition. There was only one person to blame for that. Seeing the other two men making a scene at the hospital wing, Kanda thought it would be wise to remain silent for the time being. While the Head Nurse was scolding Komui and Lavi, Kanda went in and took Lenalee's hand. "Come, you should eat something. You'll feel better!" he said calmly as he led the girl out of the chaotic room, "Don't worry, everything will be alright." Lenalee nodded and followed him out of the place. Maybe she would see Allen in the canteen.

.

.

No, not Kanda Yu, not in a gazillion years, Komui concluded in less than a second. So this could only mean... He grabbed Lavi's scarf and pulled it tight.

"Although this will ruin our relation with the Bookman clan, how would you like your funeral, Lavi?" asked Komui flatly, glasses gleaming with coldness, "You have three seconds to decide."

"W-what do you mean?" coughed Lavi as he struggled from the strangulation and his own shock, "It must be Allen...!" They were married, weren't they? "You're not suspecting me, are you? Geez! Lenalee is Allen's wife!" squeaked the exorcist, out of breath. That worked like a curse, Komui covered his ears, refusing to hear the last sentence. Lavi wheezed for air and stepped away from the scientist. Still, Komui eyed him with distrust. If his calculation was correct, Lenalee should be on a mission with Kanda and Lavi when _*IT*_ happened... if not them, who did? He remembered Allen was here in HQ at that time. He had to question Lenalee, this was serious!

He pushed Lavi out of the way and ran out of the hospital wing.

"Lenaleeeee!" cried Komui with tears flooding the corridors. Where could she be? Why didn't she tell him? B-b-but... Lenalee was still a child... And he never acknowledged the so-called Noah wedding! Lenalee was not married to Allen Walker! It was bad, Komui knew it and feared it. When two young person believing they were married, they would do certain forbidden things. Obviously, they had done something. Komui's thoughts went into a fragmentation state. Then he saw a person sneaking out of the hospital wing. It was no other than his nemesis.

"Seems the dosage was not enough to put you away for even a morning?" asked Komui as he grabbed onto the boy's shoulder, "I see you have developed resistance to this drug already!" His fingers digging deep into Allen's flesh, eliciting an eerie shiver down the teen's shoulder. "Where do you think you're going?" Komui turned the boy to face him and asked coldly.

Allen swallowed hard. For Lenalee, he would crawl out of the infirmary if he had to.

"I have to see Lenalee," said the boy firmly. The supervisor eyed him up and down. Komui then winced at the image of a baby boy with Lenalee's eyes but Allen's nose, her cheekbones but his ears. And the baby had Lenalee's smile but Allen's voice. Uncle Komui, giggled the baby...

Komui had his face in his palms as he fell onto his knees and cried helplessly. Allen didn't know what to do. Was it that dreadful for him to see Lenalee? And Allen thought things might get better for him and Lenalee once they were married. He was totally and beyond wrong.

"Komui, are you alright?" asked Allen. Komui wiped off his tears and pulled himself together. He stood up and now held onto both Allen's shoulders.

"Be honest with me, boy! Was it you?" asked Komui. His heart pounded fiercely. Honesty for a swift execution, denial for a slow and painful death!

"Was it me what?" asked Allen, completely confused. Was Komui playing a new trick on him?

"Lenalee's late! Two months already!" exclaimed Komui angrily, "Did you do it, Allen Walker?"

Allen was still puzzled. Lenalee's late? But wasn't she back already with Kanda and Lavi? Seeing no response from the boy, Komui dragged him to a dark corner and pinned him against the wall.

"She's pregnant!" sneered the man, with the blood vessels in his eyeballs about to go pop. He watched as the boy's face changed from pale to pink, and then from plum red back to ghastly white. With Allen's minimal biology knowledge, he too realised what that indicated. Hey, wait... who the bloody hell...!

"Oh come on! No way!" Allen laughed. It had got to be a joke. And it was a bad one. He did not find it funny.

Komui did not smile nor speak. He just looked at Allen gravely. It wasn't Allen? Allen stopped laughing and drifted into silence.

"You're serious...?" asked Allen, trying hard to suppress his uneasiness, "... did she say who?" His heart refused to believe, but his mouth kept on asking.

"She didn't. I overheard her conversation with Head Nurse," said Komui gravely, "She didn't even tell me anything! I'm her brother! I raised her up like a father! She must be trying to protect that man!" Komui eyed Allen again with suspicion. "If it's not you, now that you know about it, will you help me to find him out?" asked Komui. This wasn't a question and an answer wasn't expected. Komui knew for sure, whoever that was, now Allen would eat him for breakfast. Komui could see the gleam in the exorcist's eyes already. He patted the teen on the shoulder.

"Did Lavi and Kanda...?" blurted Allen when Komui turned to leave.

"It's not them," replied the supervisor, "And Kanda didn't seem to know about it, so keep it a secret among us for now."

.

.

"That's less than half a meal," stated Kanda coolly as Lenalee placed down her chopsticks. Lenalee smiled and nodded. Allen was not in the canteen either. She kept thinking about him all the time. It was always good to be with Kanda. He never asked unnecessary questions. She sat in silence with the swordsman when he was finishing off his soba.

"Why don't you just ask your brother to call for him? Beansprout should be around somewhere," said Kanda as he stood up, ready to leave. "Maybe Komui got him locked up-"

"Brother would not do that! We are married! He wouldn't separate us like that," said Lenalee. That would be ridiculously unreasonable. But her brother was a specialist in performing the absurd. She sighed and felt a slight pain in her abdomen.

"You should get some rest," said Kanda, noticing Lenalee rubbing her lower abdomen gently.

"Yes, I think so. I think I will go get some sleep now," replied the girl softly. Kanda watched as the girl walked slowly out of the canteen. He rubbed his forehead and sighed. What was he going to do now? He couldn't just let Lenalee continue in this state. Her body condition was getting worse now. Maybe he should just go and be frank with Komui Lee before things got out of hand.

"Kanda!" cried Allen as he stormed into the canteen, eliciting an angry glare from the swordsman. Great, Allen had just missed Lenalee. What did the brat want now?

"What is it, beansprout?" asked Kanda monotonously. He grumbled as the teen dragged him to the far end of the canteen where there were less people around. Kanda sensed a dangerous aura emitted from the white haired teen.

"Tell me what happened in the mission?" asked Allen cautiously with a suppressed voice. Kanda tilted his head and thought for a moment.

"Why do you want to know?" sneered Kanda in return. He observed closely as the boy stammered and hesitated, but still not giving him a reason. He couldn't just tell Kanda about Lenalee's pregnancy like this, thought Allen. But then, Kanda had already guessed Allen's reason for asking. He smiled inwardly.

"I-I... Just tell me! I need to know, the details and everything during you guys' mission!" exclaimed Allen urgently, "Did you guys see anyone suspicious?" He covered his mouth when he realised he was being too loud. People were browsing over to them.

"Okay, beansprout, if you really wanted to know," began Kanda calmly, "It was just a simple mission, retrieved a piece of Innocence, destroyed a few Akumas. Nothing complicated really... oh! And him too. We saw him again."

"What? Who? WHO?" exclaimed Allen again, grabbing onto Kanda's arm. Kanda shook him off in irritation and continued, "He was talking to Lenalee when we went back to her after taking out the last of the Akumas. He fled as soon as he saw us."

Kanda paused as he saw flames shooting out from Allen's eyes. He added, "Now that you ask about it, he muttered something about Lenalee being part of the family now or something like that. So he said he would not hurt her."

"WHO IS IT KANDA?" cried Allen desperately. The people in the canteen were staring at them now. Allen swore to dismember whoever did _*IT*_ to Lenalee during the mission!

Kanda sighed. He couldn't really comprehend Komui's or Allen's thoughts. How could anyone possibly be doing that sort of thing to Lenalee while he and Lavi were around? And they always accused him being the stupid one. Anyway, it would be a good revenge on Allen for causing him and Lavi the extra work since his wedding.

The swordsman walked past the hysteric youth, leaving behind a name. Allen was shell shocked. He should have known, that man looked just like Neah! He must have tricked Lenalee, pretending to be her man!

Allen now regretted not finishing that man off last time when he had the chance. The name ping-ponged inside his brain and he finally lost it.

"TYKI MIKKKKK!" roared Allen as he summoned the ark portal and activated Crown Clown.

-to be continued-


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own the Dgrayman characters, this is done solely for the sake of fan-girlism.  
Forewords: Story took place after 'You May (Not!) Kiss The Bride'. As always, feedbacks and comments are welcomed and appreciated! ^^

**Father of the Child**

by Sceaduw

_{Part II}_

Everyone was out working. Road pouted. She sat on the floor, twisting the head of her worn out and most abused teddy bear. Her two favourites were not around. Lero had been taken by the Earl and Tyki was still missing since the wedding. She sighed. Maybe she should go to find her father, he would always spare time to be with her. No, Road changed her mind. This adorable childish behaviour would most likely cause Sheril to nosebleed himself to death. She sighed and threw the bear against the wall. Instead of hitting the wall, the bear fell through a magically appeared portal. Road stood up immediately and gave a huge grin. She did not expect this visitor but she was delighted. An exorcist stormed into Road's playroom through the portal, holding a teddy bear with his right hand.

"Allen!" cried Road as she ran up to gave him a hug. She wanted to kiss him but Allen quickly held up the teddy bear and it received the kiss on his behalf. Pushing the bear back to Road, he quickly took a step backwards to distance himself from the girl. He was a married man afterall. He looked around the room and cursed silently. He was in the wrong room.

"Allen! What are you doing here?" asked Road. She dropped the bear and looked at the boy with curiosity. Could it be...? Had Allen finally come to his senses? She giggled, "Oh I see." She then turned away. She had known Lenalee Lee was not the right woman for Allen Walker. Unfortunately, she did not know the formal process of divorce. Was there even one? It had never happened before in the history of the Noahs.

"Wait, Road!" exclaimed the exorcist desperately, "You see what? I'm here to find Tyki Mikk! Where is he?" Road raised an eyebrow. Oh, now she understood. But still, it won't be right if Allen didn't get a divorce first. She refused to let her uncle be inferior to that human girl. She smiled wickedly. How about getting Lenalee to divorce Allen first? Then they won't need to bother with the procedures and traditions. Now she had something fun to kill time with.

"I know where he is!" she laughed and dragged both herself and Allen through the portal. The portal immediately vanished, leaving behind a battered teddy bear.

"Rooaad! Daddy's here to see you!" cooed a man's voice as the door opened swiftly, "I finished work as soon as possible so I can see you! How's my precious daughter today?" Sheril was greeted by silence. He blinked and looked around. Road was not there. He went over to the pile of dolls at the corner of the room and rummaged through them. He found his golem, disguising as a doll sitting among the others. This way, he could still see the footage of his lovely daughter. He sighed dreamily and commanded the golem to show him the recordings. Sheril was having a good time until the last three minutes of the recordings. He gave out a high-pitch shriek which shook the entire ark,

"HE RUNS OFF WITH MY ROAD!"

.

.

Komui paced up and down the room. Although Allen was on the hunt, he could not just sit around and wait for the boy to return. Komlin VXII was still far from complete, thanks to Reever confiscating all his necessary tools and materials. He gave a whimper at the thought of his past Komlin children.  
"Have you signed those reports yet? They are urgent!" shouted Reever from across the office. Komui had not been working for the whole afternoon. He didn't even sit down once on his chair. If their supervisor paced around more, Reever swore the tiles on the floor would crack. He wondered what was troubling Komui. Lenalee was safe and back from the mission already, so what was bothering him? Adding to the bonus, Allen was no where to be seen so that meant a good thing to Komui, right? Reever scratched his head and continued to battle with his own work.

What was more urgent than Lenalee's condition, thought Komui. By next month, people would bound to notice she got a little 'fat'. And then the month after, people would surely notice that Lenalee was not just a little 'fat'. Komui gave a wail and quickened his pace.

"Oh hi Lavi!" Reever greeted the young Bookman briefly as he caught a glimpse of the teen from behind his overloaded desk. Lavi skipped across the floor, dodging the piled up documents, and reached Komui without tripping on anything.

"Hey, how are you doing? You're not up to something weird, are you?" asked Lavi, "Did you find Allen and asked him about it?" The teen lowered his voice so that the other hardworking staff would not hear their conversation. Komui nodded and then he shook his head. Yes? Komui had asked Allen. No? It was not Allen? Lavi felt lost. Then who could it be? Komui had his face in his palms again, muttering something about Lenalee under his breath.

"Why don't you just go and ask Lenalee directly?" asked Lavi. He would go to ask her himself but it seemed a bit awkward. It was best for her brother to do that. Afterall, he was the one who raised her up. There must be a private reason that Lenalee decided not to tell anyone. Komui looked up at Lavi, he grimaced and then shook his head again.

"What do you mean? Just ask her and we'll know who's the guy!" said Lavi. It would definitely save a lot of time and they could go interrogate and torture the man immediately! Lavi was sure Kanda would like to polish his sword with that man's skull. Komui was lost in thought for a moment before he burst into tears.

"What if she hates me for asking? What if she loves that man more than me? What if she then decides to run away with him? Oh, my dear Lenalee!" wailed the man hysterically. Reever heard everything but he decided not to barge into Komui's insanity. Lavi gaped at the supervisor. Right, he had better find Kanda to figure out a way to help Lenalee. Since Lenalee liked to meditate with Kanda often, he might know something useful. As Lenalee's best friends, Lavi believed he and Kanda had the obligation to investigate into this incident. Especially when Allen was not the father. Now that Allen should already knew about it, Lavi wondered how devastated the boy was. He'd better just leave Allen alone for a while. He and Kanda could look into the matter first.

"Hey, Komui, cheer up, I'll see what I can find out!" said Lavi and he made his way out of the messy office quickly.

.

.

"Calm down, Sheril, you're over-reacted!" the Earl laughed, swaying gently on his rocking chair. He was happily knitting a tiny woolly cardigan. Road had run off to play before, it wasn't her first time. But to actually run off with a man, no way. She would return to the ark after having fun. Sheril bit and tore at his handkerchief, he began to whimper and whine about the new job the Earl had assigned to him. Compared to finding Tyki, he would prefer to look for Road now. What if something terrible happen to Road? What if they... NOOO! Sheril dropped his handkerchief in horror. The Earl chuckled and continued with his knitting.

Waizurii entered the room and greeted Sheril. His adopted father ignored him, too deeply trapped in his trauma. The boy sighed and walked up to the Earl.

"I see you have another annoying task for me," said Waizurii as the Earl grinned at him widely. He read the Earl's mind then he glared at Sheril.

"Oh, come on! There's no way Road's going to get knocked up by Allen Walker!" the boy cried, trying to suppress his irritation, "I don't want to go find Tyki again! I did that already last time! You go and do your own job!" The psychic remembered the pain he had suffered from the noisy human crowds. Sheril sneered and smacked him on the head.

"Silence! You didn't even get the job done last time!" hissed the man. It was Neah, or should he say Allen Walker, who showed up at the wedding, not Tyki.

"Alright, alright! I'll do it! No need to get violent!" Waizurii grumbled and deliberately threw a mental vision of Allen kissing Road at Sheril. He sniggered at the high-pitch scream as he ran out of the room.

"Now, now Sheril, Waizurii will take over your original task. You're free to go look for Road," said the Earl. Sheril bowed gratefully at him and dashed out of the room. The Earl hummed a merry tune, admiring at the masterpiece in his hands. It had been so long since he held a Noah baby in his arms. Whether Road or the human exorcist, either way it would still be Neah's child. The Earl was looking forward to it.

This would be his last attempt to get his hands on the 'Heart'.

The Earl laughed madly and he flipped over on his rocking chair.

.

.

Kanda stole a glance at the person next to him. Lavi was sitting slackly but silently beside him, watching him. Lavi had been there for five whole minutes but still did not manage to say why he was there. Kanda closed his eyes and continue to ignore him. He carried on with his meditation. Or he wished he could. A finger poked into his cheek and it sent off a raging fire in the exorcist.

"What the hell are you doing here, Lavi!" growled Kanda, "don't interrupt my meditation!" It was rare for Lavi to show up in this place. Usually, it would be Lenalee. And Lenalee would never be so childish. Lavi moved himself closer to Kanda and Kanda raised his fist, ready to punch him in the face.

"Listen Yu! I have to tell you something top secret but you have to keep calm!" said Lavi in a grave tone. Kanda held his fist in mid-air. Whatever his comrade would say, he would still punch him in the face.

"Speak!" said Kanda monotonously.

"Promise me you won't freak out! It is about Lenalee," said Lavi.

Kanda already knew what Lavi was trying to say. He lowered his fist. He should really go to Komui himself before this incident affected the whole Order.

"Lenalee... erm, she... sort of, have something inside her!" blurted Lavi. He didn't know if Kanda would understand what he was trying to say. Aferall, Kanda had been fighting and killing since birth and Lavi bet his brain was all muscles. He watched as Kanda tilted his head in amusement.

"Look, let me put it this way, Lenalee has... well, you know, what girls can do and boys can't!" explained Lavi. He watched as Kanda tilted his head to the other side, again in amusement.

"This isn't funny, Yu! Do you know what I am saying?" cried Lavi and he shook Kanda by the shoulder. The swordsman smiled and punched Lavi in the face.

"You mean Lenalee's pregnant," said Kanda calmly. Lavi rubbed his sore cheek and glared at Kanda, who was going back to his meditation.

"What did you hit me for? I'm not the one... Hey! Wait! You know about it?" asked Lavi in amazement. Kanda grimaced with Lavi's loud voice. He opened his eyes and glanced at the orange haired exorcist again.

"Yes, I know about it," replied Kanda, "Oh, and that was for disturbing my meditation and calling me by my first name." He closed his eyes again.

"Wait, don't drift off yet! You and I must help Lenalee!" snapped Lavi and he pulled Kanda up to his feet. Kanda was furious now. What help? The best thing for them to do was to leave Lenalee some peace and quiet. Especially Komui!

"And what do you suggest we can do to 'help' Lenalee?" sneered Kanda, crossing his arms over his chest. Lavi paused and thought for a second. He had a plan.

"Let's claim to be the father! The real one would bound to show up!" said Lavi, "And if Lenalee deny us, we can then boldly ask her who is the father!"

Kanda couldn't believe his ears. This was stupid, insane as well as suicidal. Think of Komui and his Komlins' wrath. Not to mention Allen's reaction. And most of all Lenalee's feelings. Kanda nodded and patted Lavi on his shoulder with sympathy.

"That's brilliant. You'd better go jump off a cliff right now," said Kanda. Things were really getting crazy. He had to go find Komui directly and break it out to him.

"Wait up! Where are you going?" shouted Lavi as the other teen walked away.

"I'm going to stop this mess," replied Kanda as he disappeared through the doorway. Although not knowing what the swordsman would do, Lavi followed him quickly.

-to be continued-


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own the Dgrayman characters, this is done solely for the sake of fan-girlism.  
Forewords: Story took place after 'You May (Not!) Kiss The Bride'. As always, feedbacks and comments are welcomed and appreciated! :3

**Father of the Child**

by Sceaduw

_{Part III}_

"Are you certain of this information, inspector Link?" asked Rouvelier. He was not sure if he should submit this piece of information to his superior. His faith towards the Red Cardinal had wavered. Especially after the chaos of the disastrous wedding. Frankly speaking, Rouvelier couldn't trust the Red Cardinal without any doubts anymore.

"Yes, I'm certain. From all sources of information, I can only believe that man is the cause of it all!" said Howard Link firmly. Rouvelier nodded.

"Keep an eye on them all. There's no need to interfere with their family issues at this moment," said Rouvelier and he gestured his man to stand-down. All would be settled very soon if this was true. He was seriously thinking of cutting the budget to the Black Order, considering the folks there were having too much time to fool around.

"Are you sure we don't need to let Komui Lee know about it?" asked Howard as he turned to leave, "It seems foolish to see them making a fuss out of it."

"Let them take care of it themselves! They're grown-ups, aren't they?" replied Rouvelier coolly. The Vatican had more important things to deal with, now that they were still at war with the Earl. He didn't want to get himself into meaningless troubles from the Black Order.

Rouvelier looked out of the window and sighed at the ruins of the once magnificent cathedral. It would take a long, long time to rebuild that. What then, if there was really a new life forming inside Lenalee? A life born of Noah and human! Could that also be a dwelling place for the new 'Heart'? Rouvelier grimaced for he had witnessed the power of the 'Heart'. It transformed Komlin to a God. He slightly trembled upon the thought. The Red Cardinal had specifically ordered Rouvelier to inform him of anything from Allen Walker and Lenalee Lee. He wondered if the Red Cardinal was also after the 'Heart'. If he was, then everything made sense to Rouvelier now.

"Dear Lord, don't let it happen again," muttered the Vatican official, "Wait, Howard!" The man called out to the inspector just as he was about to leave the office. The young man halted immediately. "Dispatch two to three Crows to follow the Red Cardinal closely," commanded Rouvelier sternly.

.

.

Taking a deep breath, Komui knocked softly on Lenalee's door. Lavi was right. This might be awkward and Lenalee might hate him, but it was all for the best of his little sister. He would do anything to protect Lenalee, even if it meant being loathed by her. Komui waited but there was no response. He gently twisted the door knob. The door was not locked.

"Lenalee?" Komui called out softly as he peered into the room. Lenalee was sleeping soundly in bed. Komui tip toed across to her bedside, fearing any slight sound would wake the girl up. He smiled sadly as he knelt down beside her bed. The girl looked so fatigued. Komui understood, no matter how easy a mission was, it was still dangerous and tiring. In Komui's heart, there was always an unspeakable fear of Lenalee not returning from missions. But she was an exorcist and he could not stop her from fighting. It was her fate. He gently took her hand and silently prayed for her. He glanced over to her stomach. No matter what happened, he would always be there for her.

"Allen...," muttered Lenalee and she stirred in her sleep. Komui frowned. Was it a bad decision to keep them apart since the ceremony? No, it wasn't a bad decision. It was a wrong decision. Komui regretted it now. This wouldn't have happened if Allen was with her. He mentally gave himself a slap. Maybe he should go call Allen back to accompany her. Right now, Lenalee would need him to support her.

"Allen, I'm sorry...," Lenalee whispered and a tear rolled down her cheek. Komui wiped it away ever so softly. Come to think of it, what would Allen think of Lenalee now? He knew the teen would be furious with the man who did it, but what about the woman? Would he still love Lenalee as he used to? Komui didn't want to think further. This whole thing was going from bad to worse. He was only certain of one thing. That he would be right here, beside his little sister. Even if the Noahs were to attack right now.

Lenalee turned in bed again. She slowly opened her eyes.

"Brother...?" she asked faintly. Komui smiled down at her, squeezing gently on her hand.

"I'm here, Lenalee," said Komui, "I'm here." He let go of her hand as she sat up in bed. She gave her brother a loving smile and stretched lazily.

"What are you doing here, brother?" asked Lenalee as she got out of bed. She was feeling much better after a short nap. She pulled out a chair for Komui and she sat on the bed herself. Komui sat down and grabbed hold of Lenalee's hand again. He looked deeply into her eyes.

"Lenalee, there's something I must ask you," he began slowly, "it's about -"

Suddenly a flash of light and a portal appeared from beneath Lenalee's bed.

"LENALEE!" cried Komui and he tried to pull Lenalee off the bed to him. The portal grew in size and both Lenalee, along with the bed, and Komui was sucked into the darkness below.

"What's happening?" wailed Lenalee as she managed to grab onto her brother as the both of them fell through the floor. They landed onto a solid ground soon and a shadow immediately loomed over them.

"Lenalee Lee! Where's your husband?" demanded the person in the dark.

Komui recognized him. He had seen him on the wedding before. He was one of the Noahs and he looked really pissed. Komui tried to stand between him and Lenalee but the girl pushed him back.

"Who are you?" asked Lenalee boldly, "What do you want from Allen?"

"I was supposed to be your brother-in-law if you had married Tyki!" sneered the man. How dare this insignificant girl asked him his identity! He stepped closer and continued, "What do I want from Allen Walker? You should be asking what YOUR Allen want from MY Road!"

Both Lenalee and Komui froze at Sheril's words.

.

.

There wasn't a fish caught today. Tyki sighed. He was hungry and tired. There was a sudden gush of wind and he sneezed. By the love of the Earl, he hoped he didn't catch a cold. The sky was getting dark and Tyki decided it was time to find himself a shelter. He stood up and packed up his fishing gear. It was only a long stick and some thin threads that he had picked up at a local flea market. He sighed again as he stomach growled in protest. If only he could transform back to his Noah self, then all the fish in this river would be his dinner. He shook his head at the thought. No, if he did that, the other Noahs could track him down! He wondered if Sheril had forgiven him already. Yeah, like that was going to happen. Tyki was certain if he went back to the ark now, he would be forced to marry someone. Hey, what if he claimed he already had a wife? Then Sheril would not force him to marry again! That sounded like a good idea. Tyki frowned when his stomach reminded him of reality. How could he convince Sheril that a decent woman would marry a hobo like him? His brother was not that stupid.

"Hello there," said a voice behind Tyki, "You've been here for some time, any luck with the fish?" Tyki swirled around to find a lovely young woman looking at him with interest. To his embarrassment, his stomach had answered her question on his behalf. The woman giggled and then said, "if you don't mind, please come to my inn, there're not many guests at the moment. The food at our inn is the best in town!" Tyki looked appreciatively at the smiling woman. Now that was a very attractive invitation. But his experience told him all such wonderful incidents always led to something terribly awful.

"I'm sorry, my lady. But I'm afraid I'm in a hurry to the next city right now," said Tyki while his stomach continue to rumble, "Thank you for your kind offer. It's very kind of you!"

_Quick! Hold him! Don't let him get away!_

The woman did exactly as told. Tyki gave a little gasp as the woman pressed herself against him. She snuggled up to him and whispered, "Please, come with me. It's only for one night."

Tyki blushed slightly with interest. No one had ever been so intimate to him, not while he was in his stinky human form. He faintly remembered once, but he was too drunk to remember who that was. He wasn't even sure if that was a guy or a girl. Her body felt so warm. Seeing the beauty refused to let go, Tyki caressed her soft blond hair fondly. Oh well, he had nothing to lose. He had no money, nothing valuable to be robbed of. And surely, no humans could possible hurt him.

"Thank you but I'm afraid I really don't have any money to -,"

"Don't worry about it! Let's have dinner together, it will be my treat!" the woman looked up at him, eyes gleaming mysteriously. Tyki found the two orbs fascinating. She then turned away and let go of him. She was blushing furiously.

"Alright, okay. Thanks!" Tyki gave a light laugh and he followed the woman back to her inn.

_Good work, Lulu._

_You're so dead when we return to the ark!_

_But you're transfiguration is great! Tyki completely bought it! _

_Those words you instructed me to say... they're humiliating!_

_But they worked!_

_You owe me this one, Waizurii! Go hynoptize the people in the inn before we get there! _

The woman snapped out of her thoughts and stole a glance at Tyki. Like Waizurii said, the man didn't realize anything because he was too tired and hungry. Noticing the woman was looking at him, Tyki smiled delightedly.

Could this be...? Maybe the seemingly impossible idea he had before could just work! He boldly took hold of the woman's hand.

"My name's Tyki Mikk. May I ask my lady's name?" he leaned in close to the woman. A shiver washed over the young woman. She swore she would die of goosebumps.

"I'm Lu-," she paused, "... Lucy." That was close. Waizurii gave a cough of laughter not far away.

Tyki was now wrapping his arm around her waist, pulling her closer. Lulu mentally sent a death threat to Waizurii. She received a snigger back from the psychic. For the sake of the Earl, she had to put up with this man. She forced herself to smile back at Tyki.

"Lucy, I know this is a bit awkward, but I'm wondering if you can also help me on another matter. You see, I'm looking for a wife, not a real one..." started Tyki on his plan. Lulu rolled her eyes and regretted letting Waizurii know the whereabouts of Tyki. What troubles she had got herself into.

.

.

Kanda looked around but Komui was not in sight. Reever said Komui had wandered off again. The swordsman snorted and went out immediately. Maybe Komui's with Lenalee. That man would most likely to be guarding Lenalee right now.

"Yu! Wait!" yelled Lavi as he caught up with Kanda. Kanda halted and turned abruptly. He hissed at the follower, "Don't call me by my first name!"

"Can you at least tell me what you're going to do?" said Lavi. If Kanda had a good plan, he wanted to help too.

"I'm going to tell Komui the truth!" said Komui flatly. Lavi widened his eyes. "What truth?" asked Lavi suspiciously. Then he grasped Kanda's shoulders fiercely. He bellowed into the swordsman's face, "NO! It can't be YOU!"

"Of course not!" shouted Kanda as he shook off Lavi's hands. "If you want a swift death, then just say so!" scowled the angry exorcist and he hit Lavi hard on the chin with the handle of his sword.

"Then what truth? What do you know?" asked Lavi painfully. He had been hit by Kanda several times already today. Kanda snorted and turned. He only wanted to talk to Komui about it. It had nothing to do with Lavi and he didn't want to waste time on explaining to him.

"Hey! Don't be rude, Yu! Answer me!" yelled Lavi and he dodged the next blow from Kanda. He knew that would be coming when he called Kanda by his first name. "Okay, I'm coming with you to see Komui. Then you can tell us both what's going on!" said Lavi with a smirk.

Kanda grunted and began to walk towards Lenalee's room. On the way, Lavi kept quiet and did not provoke Kanda anymore. He was curious about the 'truth' Kanda had mentioned. Hey, if Kanda had known the truth, he should have told Komui and him right at the start! Anyway, he would find out soon enough.

Suddenly, Kanda stopped and Lavi nearly bumped into him. He had a strange feeling. It was erie and most uncomfortable. Then just a few rooms from Lenalee's, the two exorcists heard a cry.

"Komui?" shouted Lavi and the two ran to Lenalee's room. The door was ajar. They stormed into the room with weapons at hand. To their surprise, there was no one there. And Lenalee's bed was gone too.

"Damn it! What happened?" sneered Kanda. He was certain something happened. Something bad.

-to be continued-


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own the Dgrayman characters, they belong to a godly artist Katsura Hoshino. This is done solely for the sake of fan-girlism.

As always, feedbacks and comments are welcomed and appreciated! :3

**Father of the Child**

by Sceaduw

_{Part IV}_

"Road, isn't this... Black Order headquarter?" asked Allen. He was worried. Could Tyki really be in here? If he was, what was he doing here? He looked at the doll clinging onto his shoulder.

"Yes, it is, Allen!" chuckled Road as she looked around. There was no one around. She transformed back to her Noah form and smiled up at Allen. "Let's go find Lenalee!" she giggled and held onto Allen's arm lovingly.

"Hey, what's this all about? Why are we going to find Lenalee? Aren't you taking me to Tyki?" asked the exorcist, fearing what he had in mind. Tyki was with Lenalee? No, that was absurd! That Noah was here all the time? Allen shook off Road's hold and glared angrily at her. "What are you playing at? Why are we here exactly? You're not suggesting Tyki is here with Lenalee, are you?" Allen hissed, eyes peering at the girl dangerously.

Road examined Allen's words with interest. Now that was not on her mind. She never said she would take Allen to Tyki. She just said she knew where he was! Her plan was to get Lenalee heartbroken by seeing her and Allen together. Whatever gave Allen the idea of Tyki and Lenalee being together? She smiled silently without giving Allen an answer. She watched in pleasure as the boy grimaced. Well, Allen couldn't have his cake and eat it too! He couldn't be married to Lenalee and still be attached to Tyki. The boy had to make a choice! Road was just trying to give him a push. Towards Tyki's side that was.

"Oh... poor Allen! Let's go to find her first! It could just be a little misunderstanding!" cooed Road as Allen looked away and wiped his face with his sleeve. She saw a shimmer in the exorcist's eyes and laughed triumphantly in her mind. Allen and Lenalee's marriage was breaking! With another tiny push from Road, the whole thing would fall and shatter!

"Allen?" exclaimed a voice behind them. Road and Allen turned and saw Kanda and Lavi. They were anything but happy to see Allen with Road.

"Beansprout! What's she doing here?" snarled Kanda, already in a position to activate his sword. The Noahs were coming and going like they own the place now? Kanda was most irritated. Before Allen could reply, Road had flung herself at Allen, hugging him tightly. Before Allen could utter a shocked word from his lips, Kanda had sent off a dozen of Illusional Underworld Creatures at the pair.

"Wait!" cried Lavi, but he was too late. Allen quickly picked up Road and jumped high into the air. They dodged the first blow but Kanda launched another attack simultaneously. The second hit forced Allen to release Road from his arms. Road landed gracefully and she watched in amusement as Allen landed flat on his face.

"Why the hell did you attack me, stupid Kanda!" roared Allen as he climbed back onto his feet. Kanda gave a nasty 'tsk' sound as he saw Road was unharmed. Lavi also tried to constrain Kanda and calm him down.

"Allen, Lenalee's gone! And we think Komui was with her and he's missing too!" explained Lavi urgently.

"And her bed was gone too!" added Kanda, "Maybe the Noah there can elaborate on this?"

"Could it be Komui had taken Lenalee into some secret hiding place to protect her?" asked Allen. If Komui was with Lenalee, then things should be fine.

"Why would he do that? He would have unleashed his Komlins if he wants to protect her!" snapped Kanda, "You're not defending the Noahs now, are you?"

Allen denied of course. But then he remembered Komui told him that Kanda did not know about the pregnancy.

"Well... erm, yes, you've got a point... yes..." Allen stammered and hoped Kanda wouldn't be suspicious of anything.

All three exorcists then turned to stare at Road, waiting for a response from the Noah side. Road gulped. She looked at Allen pleadingly but Allen's gaze was as cold as ice. She pouted and took a step back from him.

"I have no idea what you're talking about!" she said. She really didn't know.

"Road?" Allen asked, his voice softened, "You can tell me, I know you won't lie to me!" Road looked at him and thought for a moment. She really hadn't lie to Allen before. At most, she would refrain from telling him the truth, but she never lied to Allen.

"I really don't know. I'm with you all the time, remember? I also want to see Lenalee too!" said Road. She wasn't lying at all. That had been her plan. Now her plan was screwed due to some unexpected incident. She wondered if the other Noahs had anything to do with the disappearance of the girl.

"She's lying!" sneered Kanda but Allen held up his hand to stop the angry swordsman. He decided to trust Road.

"You're not going to trust her just like that, are you? Allen!" grumbled Lavi, "What's it with you two?" He didn't really want to know if there was anything special between Road and Allen. He just felt it would break Lenalee's heart if there was really something between the two.

"There's nothing between us!" snapped Allen and he ran over to the two exorcists. He further asked Lavi, "can you tell me when Lenalee disappeared?"

Lavi could tell Allen was genuinely worried. But all he could tell the teen was Lenalee just vanished. Road stood aside and waited for Allen. She occasionally pulled some faces at Kanda and tried to provoke him into a fight.

"Lenalee's not... feeling well, Komui told me, we have to find her quickly!" said Allen. He tried to keep Lenalee's pregnancy a secret from Road and Kanda, not knowing the swordsman already knew about it.

"You already know... her condition, Allen?" whispered Lavi knowingly, trying to get a glimpse of what Allen would think of it. He immediately regretted it as he saw the rage in the youth's eyes. Was Allen angry at the man or was he angry with Lenalee? Lavi shook him by the shoulder gently and suggested, "get a hold of yourself! We still need to find Lenalee pronto!"

"Yes, we must find her!" cried Road. Nothing should hinder her plan! She had always wanted to see Tyki and Allen living happily together in the ark. One big happy family! Kanda glared at her and she stuck her tongue out at him rudely. Kanda growled and would have launched an attack at the Noah if Lavi and Allen had not stopped him.

"Road, you said you know where Tyki is, can you take me to him?" asked Allen. He was praying it wasn't Tyki who had taken Lenalee, but...

"Yes, he's anywhere but inside the ark," smiled Road innocently.

.

.

"Lucy, when everything is settled, I'll take you back home right away," said Tyki with a charming smile. Lulu sat across the table and squeezed out an equally warm smile. She was glad the meal was over. She hated the vegetables.

_Like hell he will. He's going to kill you once Sheril believes his story._

Lulu winced at the voice inside her head. She didn't need the extra narration from Waizurii. Where was he anyway?

_I'm upstairs in one of the guest rooms but I'm hungry. _

Lulu ignored the psychic and focused back onto the man in front of her. Tyki looked so relaxed and satisfied now compared to a while ago at the riverside. He was laughing and ranting away like an idiot, ever since she agreed to help him out on his little plan. She didn't know why she did it.

_Maybe because you actually like Tyki?_

_Shut up, Waizurii._

_Oh, okay then, you're on your own now! I'm going to the kitchen to get some food._

_Hey, wait! Waizurii!_

Lulu gritted her teeth in despair. Without Waizurii, how could she deal with Tyki? She wasn't any good at conversations. Come to think of it, she had always prefer to hang around Waizurii because precisely he would know what she was thinking without the need of her speaking at all. She felt herself sweating under the pressure of the current situation.

"Lucy? Are you alright? You're so quiet," said Tyki as Lulu had her attention back to him. Lulu was very nervous. One wrong word and she would compromise her disguise. Tyki would definitely flee the scene without hesitation. There was no way Waizurii and her could stop Tyki. Tyki was too skilled a fighter for them to capture him by force. Not to mention his ability to pass through anything.

"Lucy?" asked Tyki softly. His left hand moved forward and touched her right hand. Lulu flinched upon his touch.

"I-I... I'm tired," she said, glancing sideways. She looked at Tyki's distorted reflection on the wine glass. She had always loathed wine. She loved milk only. But today, the wine tasted exceptionally acceptable.

"I see, it's getting late -,"

_Let's go upstairs!_

"Let's go upstairs!" blurted Lulu. Thank goodness Waizurii was back!

"Upstairs?" smiled Tyki. He knew this woman had a crush on him! Was it love at first sight? There was no such thing as a free meal after all. He gave a causal brush at his hair and smiled wickedly. He was such a sinful man, even in a hobo appearance.

"Upstairs?" asked Lulu in disbelieve. What had she just say? What did that mean? She heard a faint chuckle from Waizurii and then silence again.

"I mean, up-,upstairs...going up?" the blonde spoke non-coherently.

Tyki watched Lulu stammered with amusement. Her face reddened and she gulped down the remaining red wine in her glass. Tyki took his own glass and swirled it gently, all the while peering at the young woman. She looked even more attractive now that she was a little drunk. He took a sip at the wine and then he stopped. He realised he mustn't get drunk tonight! Tyki remembered what happened last time when he got drunk. He woke up being hit by exorcists and his siblings were there to capture him! The Noah placed down his glass and got hold of Lulu's hand.

"How about going back to my place?" he smirked.

"Your place?" asked Lulu dumbfounded. She felt the room was quivering.

_He wants to go back to the ark! We did it, Lulu!_

Lulu felt her head winced with pain from Waizurii's mental call. It was too sharp and left a throbbing pain.

_You're not drunk, are you? Can you keep up with your transfiguration? Don't ruin everything now!_

_Yes... I think I can._

"Lucy, are you drunk?" asked Tyki with a grin as he stood up and walked over to her.

"No! I'm fine!" exclaimed Lulu immediately. She felt Tyki's presence very close to her again. She stood up from the chair but only to fell into Tyki's arms.

_Shit, Lulu, you're drunk!_

_Damn... I'm drunk?_

"Lucy, you're drunk!" whispered Tyki. He picked her up gently and carried her bridal-style. The woman rested her head against his neck. Tyki took a glance at her. Her eyes were closed and she was breathing softly. He smiled mischievously as he carried her out of the inn.

_Lulu, can you still hear me?_

_Yes... I'm not that drunk._

_Can you keep up with the transfiguration?_

_Yes Waizurii..._

Lulu tried to relax onto the man. It was actually a good thing to get slightly drunk. Her cheeks would not show the blush.

_Lulu?_

_Shut up..._

Waizurii smirked. He definitely saw a contented smile in Lulu's mind. If things should go wrong now, Lulu and him would be doomed. He watched carefully through his demon eye as Tyki summoned a portal door. He recognized that portal door. It was a one-way portal back to the ark prepared by the Earl for all Noahs to come home from wherever they were. Waizurii secretly screamed with joy as he saw Tyki and Lulu went through the portal. Mission accomplished! Tyki went back to the ark finally!

"Time for me to go too! Lulu can't continue her act without me!" he sniggered and summoned a similar portal door. He walked through it quickly.

.

.

"Brother!" screamed Lenalee as Sheril punched Komui in the face. The Noah slammed Komui onto the ground and laughed at his cries. He could squeeze the life out of this human so easily! He glanced over to Lenalee who was too weak but still struggling to attack him again and again. Komui was under his restraints while Lenalee was free to attack him. It was entertaining to watch both of them suffer helplessly.

"Maybe I should dispose of you? You have no use for me!" laughed Sheril slyly as he tilted up Komui's chin to get a closer look at the battered man. The Noah admired the brave shimmer in his eyes. It added to the fun when torturing him to death. He pulled Komui up by his throat. Lenalee cried and kicked Sheril hard. Somehow, her Innocence could not be activated. She kicked him several times more, clawing onto the Noah's arm. Why wouldn't her Innocence activate? In desperation, she tried to knee Sheril in the groin. The Noah dodged her attack just in time and he frowned.

"Save it! You can't possibly hurt me without your Innocence!" smirked Sheril as he pushed Lenalee away. Komui gasped in horror as Lenalee fell onto the ground with a dull thud. "Don't worry, I won't kill you since you're sort of part of our family now," smiled Sheril wickedly. She was Neah's wife in one way or another. Noahs might be killers but they won't kill among themselves without a good reason, unlike the humans. In addition, she was the bait to lure Allen Walker.

"Don't push her! You idiot! She's pregnant!" screamed Komui as he coughed out a mouthful of blood. He felt powerless, unable to save Lenalee. His wounds were growing by the minute. Sheril dropped the man instantly. The girl was pregnant? His eyes widened in surprise. Lenalee too, her eyes widened in fear as she scrambled up to her brother. She held him protectively in her arms.

"Please let my brother go! Please!" begged the girl as tears flowed down her face. Sheril knelt down in front of her and held out a hand to wipe away her tears. Lenalee trembled upon the sudden gentle touch and held onto her brother tighter.

"Are you?" asked the Noah softly, gazing at her with fondness.

"Will you let my brother go, without hurting him anymore?" asked Lenalee quietly. She would do anything to save her brother. Komui also waited for Lenalee to confess. He was more concerned with Lenalee's condition than his own survival. Unfortunately, his senses abandoned him before he could hear her reply.

"Anything you wish, my dear!" said Sheril lovingly. Komui meant nothing to him, whether he was dead or alive. He looked at the girl and waited patiently.

Lenalee wasn't sure if she should believe this Noah. He was so cruel to her brother. Then she had an idea. She grimaced and then gasped. She held onto her stomach painfully and cried out at Sheril, "My... stomach hurts! It hurts!" She rolled on the floor and folded herself up into a fetus position. Sheril was shocked and didn't know what to do.

"Oh no! Is it the baby? Is it the baby?" he shrieked.

"Let my brother go... now!" gasped Lenalee as she wriggled on the ground. She was surprised when Sheril immediately opened a portal and shoved Komui through it.

"He's back to your place now! He's safe! Try and relax!" exclaimed Sheril urgently, "Breath! Breath! Don't hurt yourself!" He knelt down beside Lenalee and tried to see if he could help her in anyway. Lenalee was glad her plan worked. The Noah was concerned about her condition for some reasons. What was it about the guys? Why would she be pregnant? Lenalee didn't care as long as her brother was away from this man. Then she noticed he was kneeling close to her. That was one chance she would not missed! She flexed her leg and got a bulls eye. Judging by Sheril's distorted facial expression, that had got to hurt. A hell lot.

"Oh, I'm feeling better now! Much better!" said Lenalee as she straightened up, now smiling down at the Noah rolling painfully on the floor.

-to be continued-

(I'm sorry Komui fans, he'll have his revenge later... ;)


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own the Dgrayman characters, they belong to a godly artist Katsura Hoshino. This is done solely for the sake of fan-girlism.

_Is it just me, or is everyone looking forward to seeing Tyki in deep shit? XDDD_ As always, feedbacks and comments are welcomed and appreciated! :)

**Father of the Child**

by Sceaduw

_{Part V}_

Allen was furious. Road sat quietly in a corner and glanced over to him frequently. She occasionally looked over to the other two exorcists. They were even more mad at her. Kanda threatened to rip her apart earlier but Allen stopped him. He had not spoken one word to her since. She wondered when Komui Lee was going to wake up. It wasn't her fault that the man was battered. She didn't even know what happened. She pouted and remained quiet. She could just go back to the ark now and leave them. But she didn't want Allen to wrong her for something she didn't do. Besides, what about her original plan? Lenalee was still no where to be found! She was surprised that Komui mysteriously appeared back in Lenalee's room. It was definitely done by the Noahs. With ark portals, there would be no place inaccessible. Who did it? Road was not happy someone spoiled her fun! There were only three Noahs who could create portal doors to and from the ark. If it wasn't her, wasn't Allen, then there only remained the Earl himself! Why would he do that? Or did someone ask the Earl to open the door for him?

"Ask her Allen! She's definitely plotting something!" exclaimed Lavi. The silence in the ward was getting on his nerves. Road rolled her eyes in frustration. Why wouldn't they believe her? Oh yes, she was plotting something alright... But this was not her plot!  
"I'd say we just get rid of her!" hissed Kanda, throwing a nasty look at the girl.  
"Oh, you think you can do that?" Road retaliated. She had had enough of the exorcists' rudeness. An eerie atmosphere fell upon the room and Road was ready to trap the boys in her dream. They wouldn't even know what hit them, Road smiled fiendishly.  
"Cut it out! All of you!" shouted Allen. He was still peering down at Komui, not taking his eyes off the man for one second. Komui was badly hurt but his wounds were not fatal. He was tortured. Allen tightened his fists. Whoever did this would pay! And it ain't going to be pretty!  
"Road, why are you here exactly? I know you did not do this, but why are you here to find Lenalee? Is it something to do with her baby?" asked Allen. His voice was small but Road could hear every word clearly.  
"Baby? Lenalee's got a baby?" asked Road as she raised her eyebrow. Now that was the last thing on her mind. Her irritation vanished instantly. She was amused again.  
"Hey, hold on-"  
"Lenalee has a baby!" squealed Road, interrupting Kanda who was about to say something. So Allen had a child! Poor Tyki, was Allen trying to find Tyki to tell him about it? Did the Earl took Lenalee because he found out she was having Allen's... or Neah's child? The child would be of the Noah lineage! Road couldn't remember when was the last time there was a new born in the family.

"Oh, don't pretend you don't know!" began Lavi, "What have you done to Lenalee? Is it because you like Allen, so you don't want Lenalee around?"  
Feeling offended, Road's golden eyes widened in anger. She hissed, "Don't compare us Noahs with you humans! We would never harm our own family!"  
"Then what is it that you want from me, Road?" asked Allen, "I'm in no mood to play with you." Road pouted sadly at Allen. Of course Allen would be upset. His wife and child was missing. "Unless you can tell me where Tyki and Lenalee are, please leave us alone," Allen's voice was reduced to a whisper.  
"Hey, why would Tyki be with Lenalee? Did I miss something here?" asked Lavi, surprised at the mention of another Noah's name. Kanda shrugged. His prank on Allen had got onto the teen's nerves too much. He should tell them the truth.  
"Uh, hey-"  
"Tyki's the father, isn't he? He's the one that showed up during her last mission!" said Allen angrily. Kanda was being interrupted again. He tried to speak again but he was interrupted by Lavi this time.  
"No way! He can't be! If only he could get girls pregnant by just talking to them! Me and Kanda were around at that time! There's no way, and I mean NO WAY, he could have done anything!" exclaimed Lavi in disgust.  
"Hey, beansprout-"  
"I know, Kanda, that you're shocked! But yes, Lenalee's pregnant! We don't know who's the father!" said Allen, trying to calm the swordsman down. Allen felt he couldn't keep this secret from Kanda any longer. He watched as Kanda gawked at them.  
"No, what I want to say is-"  
"Don't worry, Allen. Yu already knew this," said Lavi as he interrupted Kanda again. He patted Kanda on the shoulder and said, "Anyway, it can't be Tyki. Whatever gave you that idea, I am very certain it wasn't him!"  
Allen looked at Kanda in confusion. Then he realised Kanda just told him they saw Tyki during the mission. It was Allen himself who jumped into the conclusion too soon. He felt ashamed of himself. Did he not trust Lenalee? Did he not have faith in Lenalee's love so much that he actually believed she would cheat on him? Had he forgotten... that it was him and not Neah, or even Tyki, that Lenalee truly loved?  
Allen wanted to slap himself.  
"Then who's the father?" asked Road and everyone went silent.  
"Listen to me-" Kanda opened his mouth again but everyone beat him to it when Komui finally woke up.

"LENALEEE!" screamed Komui when he snapped open his eyes. He then cried from the pain all over his body. Allen and Lavi tried to hold him back down onto the bed but the man sprang up with might. Road marveled at the man's will when he was still able to move with those wounds.  
"Komui, stay still! Your wounds-"  
"LENALEE! She's in danger!" Komui kept shouting, struggling to walk to the door. Then he saw Road. "YOU! NOAH!" shrieked Komui and then he collapsed onto the floor. He had torn open some of his wounds and his fractured bones silently screamed for mercy. It took the man all his strength just to stand up.  
"Can you tell us where Lenalee is? We'll go save her!" urged Allen. He got suspicious when Komui kept his eyes locked on Road.  
"Road?" asked Allen as he peered at the girl.  
"I don't know-"  
"She's lying! A Noah took us!" growled Komui through gritted teeth. He was even more furious when Road denied her involvement in their kidnapping.  
"Wait, Allen!" shouted Road but Allen was not listening. He opened up an ark portal and dragged Road with him through it.  
"I'll bring Lenalee back safely!" Allen's voice echoed back as the portal disintegrated. Lavi and Kanda were left with Komui.  
"Stupid beansprout!" sneered Kanda. He was worried that his prank on Allen had gone too far. He had known Lenalee was not pregnant all along... he should have told them as soon as they heard about Lenalee's condition. Now everyone thought Lenalee was having a baby. Oh no.  
"He should have taken us with him! Why the hell did he take Road with him?" shouted Lavi angrily. He then turned to Kanda and said, "Hey, you were going to tell Komui something, now's the time to do it. We're all ears!" Lavi helped Komui back onto the bed and let him rest against the headboard. Komui was looking at Kanda weakly. The man was in no mood to hear anything. He was too worried for Lenalee.

"Komui, Allen will get Lenalee back," reassured Lavi, "She'll be safe and sound, both baby and mother!" Lavi gave the man a warm smile but Komui burst into tears right away. He still couldn't accept that his precious Lenalee was having a baby! If the Noah let him go but not Lenalee, then most likely the Noah knew about the baby too. Komui cried even harder. He felt so helpless without his Komlins. If only his Komlin was there!  
"There's no baby!" muttered Kanda quietly.  
"Huh? There's... no...?" asked Lavi. He thought he heard it wrong.  
"There's no baby. There never was," said Kanda again. He hated to repeat himself. Komui looked up at him too. There wasn't? There never was?  
"What's this all about Kanda?" asked Lavi anxiously, "Is this what you mean by the 'truth'? B-but...? There's no? Really no? How come?"  
Kanda gave a long sigh. Komui couldn't suppress his lips from curling upwards. It was all a misunderstanding? That was the best gospel he had ever heard! He rolled off bed and staggered over to hug onto Kanda.  
"Kanda!" wailed Komui as he cuddled the swordsman. Lavi was still confused but Komui was already feeling a lot better.  
"Hey, this sounds great, but can you explain why there's no baby?" asked Lavi as he separated Komui from Kanda. He too wanted to believe Lenalee was not pregnant and there was never a 'father'. But Kanda would have to explain himself.  
To Komui and Lavi's surprise, Kanda pointed a finger at Komui. He boomed, "it was all YOUR fault!" Lavi blinked and Komui stared stupidly at the swordsman. Kanda was serious. So serious that he actually repeated himself, "Yes, it's all YOUR bloody fault from the very beginning!"

.

.

"I'm hungry!" said Lenalee.  
She took a glance at the Noah in front of her and smiled wickedly as he hurried off to get her food and water. On a throne-like chair, she sat comfortably, crossing her legs and leaning onto the armrest gracefully. After a brief moment, Sheril came back with a delicate little meal.  
"Here you are, Lenalee! These food should be good for-"  
"YOU CALL THIS FOOD!" screeched the girl. She flipped the tray to one side as the man handed it to her. Yes, she did that on purpose and she enjoyed her temporary superiority. It had been tough for her growing up in a poor family. Then her parents were killed. Soon she was taken by force by Rouvelier to the Black Order. Afterwards, she had to fight all the time. On several occasions, she nearly died. She couldn't date anyone, although this was due to her over protective brother. Finally she got to marry the man she loved, but he turned out avoiding her after the wedding. And then the sudden increase in workload because the war between the Vatican and the Earl continued. This Noah would be her punch-bag for all the lame things in her life!  
Sheril was shocked by Lenalee's sudden change in attitude. He was speechless for two seconds. Then he was snapped back to reality by Lenalee's soft laughter.  
"You...!" snarled the Noah but he was quickly silenced when Lenalee gave a little rub on her womb. Sheril gritted his teeth. The Earl would kill him if anything happened to the baby Noah inside her. He now regretted telling the Earl about it. The Earl had him in charge of taking care of the girl. Although Sheril was glad that the Earl was genuinely delighted and looked forward to this baby, he did not want to take care of this girl. Especially not when she was in this attitude!  
"I what?" asked Lenalee coldly, switching off her laughter and turning on a grim look. Sheril remained quiet. He figured he had better not provoke the girl. Females could be experiencing some kind of emotional fluctuation during these times.  
"I'll go get you something else then," muttered Sheril. As he reached the door, Lenalee called him back. She gestured the Noah to bring her a nearby legrest. Sheril did as he was told although his face was showing nothing but reluctance. Lenalee placed her legs onto the legrest and pointed at her feet. Sheril stared at her. His face muscles twitched with irritation.  
"Shall I go get you some food now, your 'highness'?" mocked Sheril but his face was gloomy. He was always the one being served, not serving others!  
Lenalee gave a soft warm chuckle and said, "I'm not hungry now. My legs are tired. Massage them!"  
Sheril glared at the girl in disbelieve. He was way past furious. Not even his wife would make him do these things!  
He hissed, "Massage? I can break them for you!" His intimidation did not work on Lenalee. The girl gave a shriek and two young Noahs came rushing into the room.

"What's going on? What have you done, Sheril?" asked Devit.  
"Yeah, what have you done? Heh!" repeated Jasdero. They watched the annoyed Sheril with amusement. Not that the twins liked Lenalee, but it was great fun to see Sheril in troubles.  
"Hey, you two! Come and take over! Massage her legs!" shouted Sheril.  
"No way, the Earl told you to take care of her!" replied Devit joyfully.  
"Yeah, you take care of her! Heh-he!" echoed Jasdero. The pair burst into laughter. Lenalee tried to suppress her triumphant smile and beckoned Sheril to kneel. The man refused to budge and stood tall, looming over her.  
"I'll kill you! I swear-"  
"Oh, then you'll kill the baby too?"  
"I'll kill you after the baby is born!"  
"You're actually going to put up with me for ten months?"  
"I will wait! I will PERSONALLY snap you in half-"  
"Then who's going to breast-feed the new born?"  
Sheril gaped.  
"Oh, you want the baby to starve?"  
Sheril desperately tried to find a word to retaliate.  
"Well, I suppose Road can't help because she's too small?"  
Lenalee produced a high-pitched echoing laughter of victory. Sheril burst into tears upon the thought of his Road breast-feeding Allen's child. And she was still with that brat at this very moment! Allen Walker! What if... Road ended up like Lenalee? Sheril fell into a deep, deep despair. Now he wished Allen Walker would come soon to retrieve his wife. The two younger Noahs approached the man and each patted him on either side of his shoulders.

"Go massage her legs, Sheril!" "Heh, massage! Massage! Tee-hee!" chorused the twins.  
Sheril bit his lips. This was revenge. The girl was avenging her brother. He regretted letting him go. He should have held Komui Lee hostage. How stupid could he get? Instead of Lenalee being a hostage to lure Allen Walker, Sheril felt he was the one truly in agony.  
Seeing the Noah was not responding, the girl sighed, "I'm waiting."  
Sheril lowered his head, trying to hide his humiliation, as he knelt beside the exorcist. He gently placed his hands onto her legs. Devit and Jasdero burst into tears, laughing hysterically.  
"Hey, we should get Tyki here to see this!" said Devit in-between gasps.  
"Yeah! Get Tyki here! Get him here! Heh!" agreed Jasdero.  
Sheril snapped his head up upon hearing his little brother's name, eyes shimmering with tears. Tyki had come back? He had decided to stop running away? Sheril immediately got up and ran out of the door.  
"Hey, where're you going?" yelled Devit. Jasdero was still laughing as they tried to run after him.  
Lenalee was surprised too. Tyki was back in the ark? She remembered Tyki told her he was on the run from the ark when they met during the mission. Why had he come back now? She called out to the twins as she sprang up from her 'throne'.  
"Hey, you two! Is Tyki back in the ark?" she asked. The twins looked at her and then they started to run for the door in fear. Lenalee felt proud of herself. She had the Noahs fleeing without activating her Innocence. She ventured out of the dark room, following the paths of the three Noahs. If she was lucky, she might find a way out of here.

The hallway was dark and Lenalee felt her heart raced by the minute. The twins' crazed laughter echoed from ahead. Following their voices, she soon saw a bright light not far away. She ran towards it. The sharp light blinded her momentarily as she dashed through the bright doorway. Was this the exit? The girl stopped as she felt the soft touch of a cool breeze. She slowly opened her eyes and found herself at an open garden. It was a mystical garden with stone sculptures of creatures unknown, and it was surrounded by twelve open doorways. It was pleasant and quiet, except the voice of a certain wailing Noah.  
"Oh, here comes the banshee! I'm telling you Tyki, she has been very horrible to me!" sobbed Sheril as he saw Lenalee appeared through one of the doors. Standing beside Sheril was Tyki Mikk. He was smiling at Lenalee despite Sheril's complaints. Another Noah was sitting cross-legged on a stone bench in the garden. Lenalee recognized him. He was the Noah with many eyes. She had seen him previously, just before her wedding. The twins were sitting on either side of him, poking and punching him lightly to annoy him. Then she noticed the Noah was grinning at her.  
"Thank devil that you two didn't get married back then!" exclaimed Sheril in horror. What would this woman do to his beloved Tyki if she had became his wife! Sheril was too freaked out to imagine. In his opinion, a fragile and sickly wife was the best!  
"Hello, Lenalee, we meet again," chuckled Tyki. He was amused that his elder brother seemed to be frightened of this girl. "This must have been fate," said the Noah. He walked up to her and held her hand gently. He bowed and kissed her hand softly. Lenalee blushed furiously. She couldn't help it. In a split second, she thought she saw the gentle Allen inside Neah. She thought she saw her Allen.  
Sheril was very much displeased. Tyki had got to be joking! If he had seen how Lenalee had behaved a while ago, he swore Tyki would not have touched her.  
"H-hello," began Lenalee. She tried to pull herself together. She kept reminding herself this was not Allen, not Neah but Tyki. But they all shared such similar looks! Lenalee wondered if Neah and Tyki were actually twins. "What brings you back home?" she asked, trying to avoid his gaze. Suddenly, the exchange of Tyki with Neah in the wedding struck her mind. Had he... came for her? Could it be... that this 'Tyki' was 'Neah' with her Allen?  
Sheril wanted to know too. What brought his stubborn brother home? Tyki grinned at Sheril and announced, "Brother, I want you to meet my wife! Lucy!"  
Lenalee's heart dropped, tearing at her chest painfully. What was she hoping for? This was Tyki, not Allen! The Noahs, except Waizurii, were utterly surprised. Sheril's eyes lit up like a chandelier as he saw a beauty walked slowly into the garden gracefully through one of the doors. He greeted this stranger with affection. Lucy was definitely way better than Lenalee. Now this was a true lady! She looked pale and a bit ill. A perfect wife by Sheril's definition.  
"To what do we owe this pleasure to have this gracious lady with us?" cooed Sheril and he deliberately shot a glance at Lenalee. Lenalee felt the irony thrown in her face by his glance. Sheril walked up to the young woman and did what Tyki had just done to Lenalee. Waizurii chuckled at the sight with delight. He couldn't wait for the fun to follow. The twins were staring at the woman. They didn't like her. She was too normal. Too normal meant no fun. Boring!  
Sheril looked at Lucy warmly but the woman gave him no respond. Before the man could release his hold on Lucy's hand, Lucy vomited onto him.  
_Lulu, what are you...? Just say you're sorry to Sheril!  
__Oh... that was great...  
__Hey, hold on to your transfiguration!  
__Y-yes... I will, I can... I think...  
_Waizurii tried his best to keep Lulu awake. If she should fell unconscious, her transfiguration would fail. She was more drunk than he had expected.  
"Oh, I forgot she was drunk," sniggered Tyki as he went to her side and supported her. Lucy could barely stand properly on her own now and had to lean onto Tyki. "Sorry brother! I think I'd better take MY WIFE back home now!" said Tyki intentionally. Sheril whimpered and shook his head in disapproval. He had to inform the Earl of this! First Lenalee and now this Lucy! And Tyki got married without a proper ceremony! What would become of the Noah family? Goosebumps crept all over Sheril as he saw an image of a hobo and a drunk getting married. He swayed and felt dizzy. Seeing how Sheril was reacting, Tyki grinned wickedly. He was certain that Sheril believed this woman was really his wife. Now his brother would not force him to get married anymore! The twins were laughing happily too. That was entertaining! Tyki had brought home an alcoholic. Sheril's face was ghastly pale. He wanted to withdrew his compliments on Lucy. He looked at the vomit adhering onto his clothes with disgust. He stole a glance at Lenalee, frustrated at the thought that the exorcist would be mocking him now. To his surprise, Lenalee's stare was icy. Sheril gulped and looked away. He'd better not let her notice him. The girl was emitting an eerie aura of hatred. Watching Tyki being so gentle to Lucy, Lenalee thought she saw Allen being nice to another girl. She felt hurt and alone.

"What about me?" she whispered and sniffled. Before everyone could react to Lenalee's actions, the girl ran out of the garden and back into the darkness.

-to be continued-


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own the Dgrayman characters, they belong to a godly artist Katsura Hoshino. This is done solely for the sake of fan-girlism.

As always, feedbacks and comments are welcomed and appreciated! :3

**Father of the Child**

by Sceaduw

_{Part VI}_

Devit and Jasdero were peering up at Tyki. So was Sheril, standing close and giving his little brother a disapproving look. The older Noah smelt something fishy. And he didn't mean Tyki had just eaten some raw fish. Three pairs of golden eyes were focused on Tyki. Four and more if including Waizurii who was getting up from the stone bench and advancing slowly towards the group.  
"W-what?" asked Tyki. He flinched uneasily at their stares. He definitely did not like the look in their eyes. "I-I need to take care of Lucy! Please excuse-"  
"Oh, don't worry about her! I'll help her out!" exclaimed Waizurii immediately and he took hold of the woman. Now was Lulu's perfect moment to step out from Tyki's cunning little plan.  
"Wait! Where're you taking her?" cried Tyki. Not that he really loved the woman, but he still needed her alive for now. If Waizurii killed the woman now, Sheril would be delighted to find him another one. Did Waizurii peeped into her head and realized that they were just pretending to be husband and wife? Did he also tell Sheril and the twins about it?  
"Wait! Waizurii!" shouted Tyki as he saw Waizurii quickly carried the half-conscious Lulu away. They disappeared through one of the garden doors.  
"Tyki!" snapped Sheril as he grabbed Tyki's head and turned him to face him. Sheril looked at him deep in the eyes. So deep, as if he could look through into his brain. Tyki gulped. He could tell his brother was being very serious now. He silently cursed if his brother had found out he was lying.  
"Look, I can explain everything!" said Tyki, eyes darting away from his brother's. He glanced sideways and saw Devit.  
"Tyki, you two-timing bastard!" sniggered Devit, shaking his head in mockery.  
"Yea, two-timing! Two-timing! Heh!" repeated Jasdero, not really knowing what Devit was talking about.  
Tyki glared at Devit, a little shocked and a tad amused. Two-timing? When? Him? For crying out loud, he didn't even had one girl! What were they playing at?  
"Can you, Tyki?" asked Sheril, "Can you really explain everything?" He clutched hard on Tyki's head and forced him to focus back onto him.  
"No... not really," mumbled Tyki. His cheeks were being squashed by Sheril and it began to hurt. How could he explain for their loony idea? But he was relieved that Sheril did not find out about his fake wife. So everything would still be fine. "Let go! You're freaking me out! What's all this about?" asked Tyki as he hit Sheril on the arms.  
"Tyki, how could you do this? You... you..." said Sheril through gritted teeth as he released his little brother. He tried to finish off the sentence but he could not. He would never want to scold Tyki, but he had no choice this time.  
"Do what?" hissed Tyki, narrowing his eyes at the three, "Being two-timing?" He refrained from laughing. Whatever gave them that wild idea?  
"Tyki, I know a woman is in love when I see one-"  
"Sheril, you've always been the flirty one."  
"Shut up, Tyki! This is serious! Listen to me-"  
"I thought you always wanted me to get a wife! Now I have one! Can I go now?"  
"Oh no you're not! You can't just walk away like this! She's pregnant!"  
"Oh ok, so Lucy might be pregnant, so what? She's still my wife. Are you done yet?"  
"No! Not Lucy! No, and I'm not done with you and her yet!" Sheril winced at the thought of the drunk, "The exorcist! You need to get back with Lenalee!"  
Tyki widened his eyes at Sheril.  
"W-who... LENALEE?" exclaimed Tyki. Lenalee was pregnant? Allen Walker's child? That was fast. He didn't expect the couple to have a child so soon after their marriage. But wasn't that good news to the Noahs? The child would be a new extension to the Noah family. But what was that got to do with him being with Lenalee?  
"Don't tell us you don't know about it, Tyki!" grinned Devit. Jasdero was giggling at him strangely. The twins nudged and poked at him. He pushed them away in irritation and turned back to Sheril.  
"Tyki, Tyki... at first I thought that was Allen Walker's child," Sheril paused and took a deep breath, "but then I realised it when she looked at you like that and ran away!" He smiled bitterly and said, "Tyki, you're about to be a father! I'm so proud of you!"  
"H-huh! What? Hey! It's not-"  
"Get rid of that Lucy now! Go get the mother of your child back!" said Sheril as he wiped his tears. First, dump the drunk, second, get rid of the banshee after the child was born, then find Tyki a new weak and sickly wife. Perfect! Sheril silently praised himself for this brilliant plan. The twins happily encouraged Tyki to go after Lenalee. They generously offered to help Tyki get rid of Allen, all Tyki needed to do was to ask. Tyki rolled his eyes weakly and wanted to run away. What possessed him to come back in the first place anyway? Was there anyone sane around here?  
"Don't try to run away, Tyki! The Earl already knew about Lenalee and he is really looking forward to her child. If he knew you're the father and you left them... Oh, he'll be very, very... VERY disappointed!" Sheril threatened Tyki. It worked. Tyki sighed and ran through the door that Lenalee had left through.  
Whatever and whoever's insanity this was, Tyki thought the only thing he could do now was to find Lenalee. She was the only one who could clarify him of this serious accusation! Being thought to be adulterous was one thing, but to cheat and ended up with a child was another. Besides, he would never be unfaithful to the woman he loved. If he had one that was. Love sounded... too difficult for him.  
"Can we get to kill that woman?" asked Devit, eyes shinning with mischief, after Tyki was gone.  
"Kill the woman! Kill the woman! Tee-hee, hee!" giggled Jasdero excitedly.  
Sheril nodded slightly in approval and the twins ran off eagerly. The man then went into a deep thought. If Tyki had been with Lenalee, what would Allen do if he found out? If Allen already knew about it, could it be that he was taking Road as a revenge? His eyes gleamed with malice. He had kidnapped Lenalee unknowing of this but it was a good coincidence! Lenalee would stay with Tyki in the ark, at least until the baby's birth. Sheril would snatch Road back from Allen himself. Both Lenalee and Road would stay in the ark, and he would make sure of it himself! For the sake of his little brother's family life, Sheril would put up with Lenalee. For now.  
But first, he needed to get changed. Lucy's vomit was sickening.

.

.

"Allen! Slow down!" squeaked Road. She was desperately trying to keep up as Allen dragged her with him. Seeing no respond from Allen, Road bit her lip and halted, using all her strength to pull Allen to a stop. That was no way to treat a lady!  
"What?" snapped Allen. He then softened up as he saw a shimmer in Road's eyes. The girl stood there, refusing to run anymore. She stared at him in confusion.  
"Where're you going Allen? I think I have the right to know if you're taking me with you!" asked Road. They were inside the ark but Road knew he was lost. The exorcist had been running randomly on the streets, opening random doors. Of course, none of the doors led to the Noah's rooms. Only the Noahs would recognize their rooms. Although Allen, as the Musician, should be able to locate the special rooms, someone had set up a barrier to the doors. Not even Road could recognize her way in the ark now. They were trapped. Not that she would mind since she knew who was behind this trick. She bet her protective father would show up very soon. It was his favourite past time to trap and torture his preys.  
"I'm here to find Lenalee. I know she's taken through the ark portal," said Allen, "I can sense when and where a portal had been opened. There was one in Lenalee's room." He looked at Road gloomily. He wanted to trust her and she did help him out before, but everything suggested the Noahs had taken Lenalee.  
"I won't stop until I find her! Even if I have to sink this new ark!" said Allen as his fist trembled with rage. "You can go if you want to! I just don't want you to stay with Lavi and Kanda. That's why I brought you with me! I can't risk you starting a war there!" said the exorcist, "No matter what, I will not leave until I find Lenalee!"  
Road sighed and watched the boy ran away. She wished Allen had just leave her with the exorcists. At least she could have some fun there. Now they were stuck running around in a virtual maze.  
"Hey! Wait for me!" cried Road. Allen was already too far ahead to hear her. The exorcist turned round a corner and then he disappeared. "Allen!" shouted Road but he was gone. Instead, the Earl's golem popped out from nowhere and landed beside Road.  
"Road! You've come back safely! -lero!" screamed the golem as he pounced at the girl.  
"Lero!" squealed Road as she hugged onto the talking umbrella. She really missed it. "Did you see Sheril? I need him to shut down the barrier! Allen and I was lost here!" she asked softly.  
"Yes, Sheril told Lero to come retrieve Road, -lero!" gloated Lero, "He said he will take care of Allen and help Tyki get Lenalee back!"  
Road's eyes widened with disgust. Why would Sheril do that? He got everyone mixed up! Allen should be with Tyki! He should help Tyki get Allen back! What was her father thinking?  
"No! That'll ruin my plans! No one shall interfere with Tyki and Allen this time!" yelled Road angrily, "Last time Allen made a mistake! This time I won't let it happen again!"  
"Road! B-b-but, Lenalee bears Tyki's child! -lero!" said Lero in terror. It watched as Road fell silent. She sank to her knees, utterly shocked.  
"That two-timing bitch!" screeched Road, "how can she marry Allen and have Tyki's child!" What would become of the Noah family? This was outrageous! As the eldest daughter of the clan, she would avenge both Allen and Tyki! All the more reason to get them together!  
"Lero! Take me to Sheril! I need to stop him at once!" said Road coldly. Lero cringed at her anger and did as it was told.

.

.

"Careful, you shouldn't be running around!" chuckled the person in the shadows. He gently pulled Lenalee up from the floor. Her fall had bruised her knees and her legs were still trembling. The Earl gave her a wide grin but the girl screamed when she saw who he was.  
"O-oh!" stammered the Earl, covering his ears immediately. Was he that scary? He felt hurt. She was the wife of one of his siblings but she was still afraid of him? That was interesting. No matter, he only needed this woman to be alive to give birth to the 'Heart'. He transformed to his human self and bowed slightly. As expected, Lenalee stopped screaming.  
"I'm sorry that I scared you, Lenalee. Please, make yourself at home. You'll be our guest here for a while!" said the Earl as he smiled. Lenalee was not fooled. She reminded herself that this man was the Earl. She started to scream again and turned to run away from him.  
"Hey...," trailed the Earl. He felt even more hurt. The Earl had always thought he was handsome when in human form. Everyone would smile silently at him whenever he brought up this topic during the family gathering. And he thought everyone thought he was handsome too.  
"Hey, watch it!" cried another voice in the dark as Lenalee bumped into a broad chest. Another Noah, Lenalee silently gasped. She refused to look up and pushed the body away immediately. A pair of strong arms grabbed hold of her and trapped her. "Calm down! We won't hurt you!" said the man.  
Lenalee continued to thrash around in his arms. The man was amused by her actions. The girl was like a frightened kitty. Why would Sheril say she was horrible? Lenalee was always so kind and gentle. A bit shy but adorably sweet. Come to think of it, Lenalee wasn't too bad, even she was an exorcist. If he would marry, and he only meant 'if', then maybe... this girl would do. Too bad she was already married and with child. He tightened his embrace around the girl and pressed her head against his chest. Road did that to him when he felt unrest. He hoped this would work on Lenalee too.  
"Hello Tyki!" greeted the Earl softly as he reached the two.  
Tyki watched as Lenalee looked up at him in surprise upon hearing the Earl calling out his name.  
"L-let go!" she shouted, cheeks flushing as she tried to push him away. She felt afraid. Tyki looked too much like Neah. And when he was being gentle, he felt too much like Allen. She began to cry.  
"What did you do to her, Earl!" winced Tyki, still holding onto the girl.  
"What did I do? What did you do, Tyki?" asked the Earl, trying to approach Lenalee without scaring her too much. With each step he took, the girl cried louder. Eventually, the Earl had to back away a few steps from the two.  
"Tyki, did Sheril tell you Lenalee has Allen's child? But I've doubted that she really had Allen's child," said the Earl, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. Tyki nodded at his question. He then looked at the Earl in confusion. So the Earl had second thoughts? The Earl smirked as Lenalee stole a glance at him in horror. So he was right, thought the Earl. That was not Allen's child!  
"How did you know?" asked Lenalee. She was trembling even more now. The Earl would kill her for lying to them about her pregnancy. To her surprise, Tyki held onto her firmly and gently patted her on her back. She did not dare to look up at the Noah. He reminded her too much of Allen... If only the Noah here was really Allen in Neah's form.  
"Allen... was too shy. Unlike our Tyki!" said the Earl, grinning at Tyki mysteriously. He had seen too many people, read so many faces, over his years. This girl had something for Tyki.  
"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Tyki urgently, "You are not suggesting... oh no! You're NOT thinking that's my-"  
"Tyki, don't be afraid! These things do happen!"  
"No, these things do NOT happen! Not to me!"  
"Oh, it's nothing to be ashamed of!"  
"YES IT IS! I's a really shameful thing to be very ashamed of!"  
"Now, now, what has been done had been done! Calm down, Tyki!"  
"NO! I will not! I did not sleep with my fellow sibling's wife!"  
Tyki was closed to screaming and Lenalee didn't know what to say. What was happening around her? First they thought she had Allen's child, now they thought she had Tyki's child? She blushed from the thoughts and tried to suppress an urge to laugh. She dared not to even smile. They would kill her if they really found out the truth. So the Earl did not find out about anything really. He just crossed out a wrong answer and wrote another answer which was also wrong. She had an idea. It might work, considering they were so concerned about her.  
"I want to go home," she sobbed. She tried not to flinch when Tyki wiped her tears away tenderly.  
"No you can't yet," said Tyki gently. Lenalee couldn't just leave now. She had to explain to everyone who's the father.  
"This is your home, dear!" cooed the Earl softly, afraid to scare the girl again. Of course Lenalee could not leave the ark! What if the Vatican realised and hid her? The Earl swore to claim the 'Heart' this time without fail. He was so proud of Tyki. He would have never thought of this way to keep the girl and claim the 'Heart'.  
Seeing her plan didn't work out, Lenalee struggled away from Tyki in frustration and ran off.  
"Don't worry, Tyki. She won't be going anywhere," said the Earl calmly.  
"That's not what I'm worrying about!" sighed Tyki as he ran after her.

.

.

"Road?" asked Allen softly. He turned around but no one was there. It was after a while before he realized the girl was not with him anymore. He turned back to find her, then he realized the streets were constantly changing. The road he just came from was occupied by a huge building now. He swirled back to face the way he was supposed to be going, but a new crossroad had appeared out of nowhere. He could not recognize the way, whether forward or backward. He was totally lost. Something strange was definitely going on here.  
"Lenalee!" he called out, desperately hoping to hear a faint reply from his love. He called out again and repeated as he continued to run from street to street.  
"Oh, look at the poor little thing!" sniggered Sheril as he peered down at the street below from a balcony of a tall building. He grinned and summoned a portal in front of Allen. He watched as the boy stopped immediately and approached it cautiously.  
"Let the poor thing see his woman," chuckled Sheril and he held up his hand, "one last time!" Snapping his fingers, a figure emerged from the door. Lenalee staggered through the doorway and into the light. Before Allen could call out to her with joy, he saw the person following her closely. He trembled with rage as the man smirked at him.  
"Hello, Allen Walker! We meet again!" grinned Tyki, "Looking for her?" He casually placed his arm around Lenalee's shoulders. Boy, was he glad to see Allen here. Now the boy could clarify who was the father!  
"A-Allen...?" gasped Lenalee as she saw the youth. She was overjoyed to see him. It had been so long since she had last seen him! Tears whelmed up at her eyes again. She wanted to run to him immediately. Then she realised her body was not moving by her will. Her eyes widened in terror as her arms began to move on their own. Her body was dragged around by unseen threads and she found herself hugging onto Tyki. Sheril gave a wicked laughter as he swiftly waved his arm, fingers dancing in midair. Tyki went paralyzed with fear when Lenalee gave him a kiss on the cheek. He glanced with fear over to Allen. The exorcist was frosted on spot.  
"That's enough, papa!"  
Sheril swirled around when Road poked him on his back. Lero was whimpering behind the girl.  
"ROAD! My darling girl!" squealed Sheril and he cuddled Road lovingly.  
Road kept him at bay and she asked, "what have you done, papa?" She peered up at Sheril and Sheril cowered at her anger.

-to be continued-


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own the Dgrayman characters, they belong to a godly artist Katsura Hoshino. This is done solely for the sake of fan-girlism.

Sorry for the late update ;_; ||| thanks for coming back and I hope you still remember what's happening in the last chapter... As always, feedbacks and comments are welcomed and appreciated! :D

**Father of the Child**

by Sceaduw

_{Part VII}_

It was really difficult when one of his arms was broken. The plaster limited his usual movements. Still, Komui managed to complete it. He wiped away his sweat as he screwed in the last bolt onto the back of his little creation. She was perfect! He hugged onto the little robot lovingly. It was exactly like her. Well, he did create it in her image. How should he name it? He couldn't call it 'Komlin', how about...  
"What on earth are you doing out of the ward?" boomed an irritated voice. Komui quickly took a piece of ragged cloth and covered his latest creation. He then turned around slowly and smiled nervously at the person storming into his private laboratory. It was Reever. So his subordinate finally discovered this little secret laboratory. Komui dropped his screwdriver behind his back and kicked it away. Reever glanced around the room and then narrowed his eyes at his supervisor. Was he supposed to not know what Komui was doing? And what was that behind him? What was so secret about it Komui had to cover it up? It was apparently another Komlin! A small Komlin was still a Komlin. Reever sighed and shook his head in defeat. How many of these 'emergency' labs did Komui kept for himself? Reever thought he had busted all of them.  
"The Head Nurse is looking all over the place for you!" said another voice. It was Kanda and he entered into the dimly-lit laboratory right behind Reever. Komui gave him a sweet smile but he got a sneer in return. "Have you not created enough troubles already? Go back to the Hospital Ward now!" shouted the swordsman. He placed his hand onto his sword threateningly.  
"I just wanted to do something to help," whimpered Komui. Reever went over to him and dragged him out of the laboratory. Komui realised Lavi was there too. Lavi did not enter the lab but waited silently outside. Komui looked pleadingly at the orange-haired exorcist. Lavi understood Komui wanted to make up for the troubles he had created. But according to his excellent bookman memory, help from Komui meant destroying the former troubles with a greater annihilation. The exorcist shrugged.  
"Look, we'll go find Allen and Lenalee. Maybe Allen had found Lenalee already!" said Lavi as Komui grabbed onto his arm while being pulled away by Reever. Komui was not happy and Lavi could tell by the pout on his face when he mentioned Allen's name.  
"Why don't you just let go of Lenalee? What exactly don't you like about Allen anyway?" asked Lavi, trying to shake off Komui's hold. The two loved each other and it was so obvious that even Kanda had noticed it. Komui tried to suppress a sob and glared at Lavi.  
"B-b-but Lenalee's my angel! No mortal man deserves her!" cried Komui, "I don't want to give her away to anyone!"  
Reever raised his eyebrows upon Komui's comments. If he remembered correctly, it was Lenalee who happily announced to the folks in the science lab that she and Allen were married, somehow. That was really the last time he saw Lenalee being so genuinely blessed. He sighed, "and I suppose you're satisfied if Lenalee gets upset for not able to be with Allen?" Kanda nodded slightly in concordance. He couldn't agree more. That was exactly what happened for goodness sake! If Komui had not tried to separate the two, Lenalee would not need to take on so many missions. The poor girl had suffered both mental and physical tortures. No wonder her condition had gone from bad to worse. Kanda was certain everything would return to normal once the two got back together. He just hoped Allen would not get too obsessed with the baby idea. It surprised the swordsman really, seeing how the husband would doubt his wife so easily. He wondered if the two would resolve the misunderstanding peacefully. Beansprout would be dead meat if he dared to make Lenalee cry!  
"I'm only doing what's best for Lenalee!" said Komui, trying to defend himself. He never intended for Lenalee to get married in the first place! Compared to marrying an unknown Noah, Allen Walker was the only alternative at that time. Now the threat from both the Vatican and the Earl was over, Lenalee did not have to be with Allen. He was grateful to Allen for saving Lenalee. That was all. He never agreed to them being married! Komui struggled and tried to prevent himself from dragging away by Reever. Lavi shook his arm vigorously but the man was practically glued to him.  
"What do you know what's best for Lenalee? She's suffering because of you!" snapped Lavi. He finally managed to get Komui off him and he quickly beckoned Reever to take the man away. "Lenalee loved Allen. You should respect her decision!" said Lavi. He did, so why couldn't Komui? Lavi frowned at the memory of the chaotic wedding. He stole a glance at Kanda, one of the many who also loved Lenalee. Maybe Kanda didn't realize it himself, but Lavi saw through everything. Being in love with Lenalee didn't mean they had to take Lenalee as their wife. Lenalee had chosen Allen. That was a fact they all had to accept. Lavi watched as Kanda took a stride towards Komui.  
"You should know, of all people! Watching over her and being there for her when she's in need, is what you do," hissed Kanda as he slapped Komui across the face, "Let her fly!" Komui went silent and stopped struggling. The slap itself wasn't that painful but Kanda's action surprised everyone. Komui opened his mouth but he said nothing. He did not know what to say to Kanda. The swordsman clenched his fists and trembled slightly. Komui knew it wasn't from rage. If it was anger, he would be slaughtered by the exorcist already. Kanda had changed so much these few years since Allen joined the Black Order. He had become more... like a human. Not the Akuma terminator he used to be. Komui smiled bitterly. Every kid seemed to have grown up all of a sudden.  
"Yeah, and if she should fall, I'm sure Allen will be there to catch her!" said Lavi and he gave Komui a big grin. "Give them a chance, big brother! You can still see Lenalee and she'll still make coffee for you! Nothing's going to be affected really even if she's married!" He turned and gave Kanda a little wink. The swordsman snorted and turned his back on him. Lavi then added, "besides, if you press them too much, they might just run away and never return."  
Komui shrieked and covered his ears instantly. Tears poured down from his eyes as he whimpered a string of incoherent words.  
"Shut up Lavi! Just go to sleep Komui! Don't do anything anymore and nothing bad will happen!" growled Kanda. He had had enough of this mess. Lavi gave Komui a little push towards Reever. He nodded at Reever and the man took Komui away by force. It took quite a while for Komui's cries to fade out along the corridors.  
"So, how're we going to find them now?" asked Kanda. If Allen and Lenalee were inside the ark, how could they get to them? "Still no luck in getting through to Timcampy?" he asked and Lavi shook his head. All they could receive back from the golem was a bizarre noise. Transmission inside the ark had always been rough and with much interference. Just when Lavi was about to close the laboratory door, he sneaked back inside with a soft chuckle.  
"Hey, where're you... what're you doing?" asked Kanda as he quickly followed him inside. Lavi skipped over to the thing Komui was hiding earlier.  
"Hey, leave the Komlin alone! Let's get out of here, this place's getting on my nerves!" said Kanda in disgust. He was too late and Lavi had pulled the piece of cloth off the robot.  
"T-This is...!" gasped Lavi as he saw Komui's creation. Kanda too widened his eyes. Komui even made the robot an exorcist uniform. They had to admit Komui was a genius in robotics. But unfortunately, he was also a nutcase.  
"I wonder where's the switch?" laughed Lavi and he reached towards the robot. Kanda blushed and tried to stop Lavi.  
"Don't touch it! You're gross Lavi!" yelled Kanda as he grabbed Lavi's outreached hand. "Don't touch Le-Lenalin!" warned Kanda.  
"Lenalin?" laughed Lavi, "That's a good name, Kanda! Did you hear that, little Lenalin?" Lavi turned and grinned at the robot. To his horror, the robot's eyes fluttered open and gleamed with life.  
"IT'S ALIVE!" cried Kanda, "What have you done Lavi?"  
"W-what? No! I didn't do anything! I did not touch it!"  
"Then how come it's activated?"  
"How am I supposed to know?"  
"It's all your fault! Stupid Lavi!"  
"What? I didn't do anything Yu! Just slash this thing before it goes rampage!"  
"Don't call me Yu! I'll stop it!"  
Kanda reached for his sword, but he then halted. Lenalin was looking at him and her emerald eyes shimmered. It was almost like the real Lenalee in tears. Kanda gritted his teeth and trembled as he activated his Mugen.  
"Kanda... Yu?" whispered Lenalin softly. It reached out and touched Kanda's arm.  
"Kanda! It's not the real Lenalee!" cried Lavi desperately as he saw Kanda de-activated his Innocence and allowed Lenalin to hug onto him. "Kanda!" screamed Lavi but Kanda just gave him a cold stare. He patted Lenalin on the head gently and the robot smiled up at him.  
"Hey, erm, what are you exactly? What do you do? Imitate Lenalee?"  
"Kanda! Don't talk to her! Switch her off!"  
Kanda ignored Lavi and gently held the robot an arm's length away from him. Really, how much did Komui miss his sister to come up with this?  
The robot smiled and replied, "I'm programmed to destroy males who show affection to me."  
Both Lavi and Kanda sensed the mine they had just treaded on. No, that was a mine field they had barged into. Their faces went pale immediately. They should have known! This was, afterall, a deadly creation from Komui. It was even more lethal than Komlin!

Lenalin tilted her head and giggled sweetly, "Now please be prepared for extermination!"

.

.

"Oh, bugger..." grumbled Waizurii as Lulu spilled some more of her dinner onto the ground. It was difficult for him to carry the woman and trying to avoid her throwing up on him at the same time.  
"I want milk...," muttered Lulu as she leaned all her weight onto him. Waizurii sighed and gave her a piggy back ride, carrying her across to her chamber. Who claimed herself not drunk? She was totally wasted!  
"Yes, yes, my lady. Let me take you back to your room first," said Waizurii. Despite the troubles he was having now, he was glad his job was finally done. Tyki was back to the ark and that was all Waizurii needed to accomplish. Whether Tyki could convince Sheril was none of his concern. And it was up to Sheril to get Tyki to stay in the ark. It was none of his business anymore. He pushed open the door gently with his foot and tried not to let Lulu slip off his back until he reached the side of her bed. The young man straightened himself up and dropped the woman onto the huge bed. He realised he needed to exercise more often as he rubbed his sore back. Waizurii never thought Lulu could be this heavy for her size. Lulu was sound asleep as soon as she hit the mattress. Waizurii looked at Lulu and softly pinched her on the cheek. She gave him a weak growl and snuggled up against the bedding. Waizurii watched in amazement as Lulu transformed back into her other self. The black cat dwelled further into the heap of bedding and disappeared out of Waizurii's sight.  
"Great. Now I can finally get some re -"  
Before the psychic could finish his sentence, he heard loud voices outside. Both mental and physcial voices. It was Devit and Jasdero. The twins were looking for someone.  
"Oh, what is it now...?" hissed Waizurii and he went over to the door. He decided it was very unwise to show up in front of the two so he waited and listened behind the closed door. The psychic was correct. The twins were looking for him. Waizurii sat cross-legged on the floor and preyed into their minds.  
Oh, now they wanted to have Lenalee as Tyki's wife and get rid of Lucy! Waizurii sighed. When would this cycle of madness stop? He suddenly felt sorry for Tyki. Apparently, Tyki's plan with a fake wife had failed. He wondered why.  
So that was why, thought Waizurii as he withdrew from Davit's mind. He sniggered and tried not to roll on the ground with laughter. Who would have known? Lenalee had Tyki's child? That was the most ridiculous thing he had encountered since the switch of the groom at the wedding. He opened the door and went out to greet the two Noahs.  
"Waizurii! There you are!" exclaimed Davit. Jasdero giggled and echoed with Davit.  
"Looking for someone? She's not here, not anymore," said Waizurii.  
"What? You killed her already?" asked Davit.  
"Tee-hee! Killed her already!" repeated Jasdero. An obvious frown appeared on their faces. They wanted to enjoy the kill by themselves.  
"Well, no... but Lucy is no more, okay?" replied Waizurii flatly. He turned and waved a farewell to the twins. He wanted to get some sleep. To his surprise, Davit and Jasdero grabbed him from behind.  
"You're hiding her, aren't you?" sneered Davit, "You're protecting her for Tyki, aren't you?" Jasdero giggled and clamped onto him tighter. Waizurii squeaked and tried to free himself but the two were too strong for him.  
"Let go! Why would I do that? I told you, Lucy is gone! She's not here!" yelled Waizurii as the twins began to abuse him. He wondered when these two brats would grow up. He finally gave in and cried, "there's no Lucy! There never was! That's Lulu Bell!"  
The twins were shocked and paused their violence. Then they resumed.  
"Who do you think we are? Retards? Do you think we'll believe you? No way!" cried Davit and he gave Waizurii a slap on the head.  
"No way! No way! Heh!" giggled Jasdero as he repeated after Davit. He even slapped on the same spot as Davit. Waizurii winced and grumbled as he tried to push the two off him. Jasdero began to pull on his turban and this irritated him. He activated his Demon Eye and gave the twins a strong mental slap, leaving the two dazed on the ground. Waizurii then quickly made his escape down the corridor.

-to be continued-


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own the Dgrayman characters, they belong to Katsura Hoshino. This is done solely for the sake of fan-girlism. As always, feedbacks and comments are welcomed and appreciated.

11/3/11... My prayers for the people in Japan.

**Father of the Child**

by Sceaduw

_{Part VIII}_

That was a hallucination. Yes, it had got to be. Allen spread a smile across his face as he slowly approached Lenalee and Tyki. Although the exorcist was wearing a happy face, Tyki could feel a dark, unpleasant aura emitting from the teen.  
"Allen," sobbed Lenalee, tears began to roll down her flushed cheeks. She finally got to see Allen in person! But she really didn't want Allen to see her in this confusing situation. She tried to move from Tyki but her arms refused to obey. As Allen walked closer and closer, her heart raced and she looked pleadingly up at Tyki. "Please, let go," she whimpered.  
Tyki looked at her in confusion. She was the one holding onto him, wasn't she?What could he do about it? He looked over to Allen who was only an arm's length away now. Allen was still wearing that smile of his and it was making Tyki really nervous.  
"Hey, Allen, she-"  
Tyki's sentence was interrupted when a fist rammed into his handsome face. The force drove the man and the girl apart. Allen quickly grabbed onto Lenalee and pulled her close to him while Tyki was sent flying backwards. He shielded Lenalee protectively with his left arm and peered down at the Noah on the ground.

"Oh, so you were... real," he grinned at Tyki, eyes narrowing into an evil slit. So it wasn't a hallucination, Allen thought. The Lenalee in his arms was real and so was this Tyki Mikk. Tyki groaned with the pain and thought he saw multiple Allens. Shouldn't Allen be pinching himself to check if he was in a dream? Why did Allen hit him?  
"Allen...," whispered Lenalee as Allen snuggled up to her. Yes, Lenalee was real. He smiled bitterly and hugged onto Lenalee gently. The girl returned the embrace with equal affections.  
"Lenalee," said Allen softly, "are you alright?"  
Lenalee nodded slightly while resting her head against his shoulder. She closed her eyes and felt his strength supporting her.  
"Hey, what did you hit me for?" shouted Tyki, climbing back up to his feet and rubbing his swollen cheek. He glared at Allen and was displeased to see the exorcist having Lenalee in his arms. He didn't know why he had this odd feeling. He should be glad that Allen was here to retrieve Lenalee and clarify everything. But that wasn't exactly what he was going through at this very moment. Tyki felt restless.

"Road! Did you see what that brat did to my beloved Tyki? You have to let me take care of that Allen Walker!" growled Sheril. He paced around the balcony and trembling with rage. Road gestured him to shut up. She watched the three intently from the white balcony. Ignoring the shrieks from Lero, Road tightened her grip on the golem and twisted its body mercilessly.  
"That... shameless woman!" gasped Road in disgust. Lenalee would ruin everything! She would torn Allen and Tyki apart if Road didn't do anything soon. Sheril made Lenalee kissed Tyki, Allen was not angry with her but he hit Tyki instead. That was solid evidence showing Allen only had his eyes on Tyki! Road deduced that Allen must have really loved Tyki. She must help those two to get back together! They must right the wrong and grasped the chance that they had let go. Road was convinced that these two should have run away together before the wedding. If it was not because of that Lenalee!  
"Wait, Road! Where're you going?" cried Sheril as Road jumped onto Lero and sped down to the street below.

"You look for trouble and you found it!" snapped Tyki. He summoned his huge cross blade and darted forward at Allen. Allen immediately activated Crown Clown and protected Lenalee and himself from Tyki's attack. Lenalee still gave out a muffled shriek upon the impact although she was well protected by Allen's white cape.  
"STOP THIS! STOP PLEASE!" she screamed. Why were they fighting again? Why couldn't there be peace among them? She didn't want to see Allen and Tyki fighting. Tyki had a gentle side and she saw it. She was convinced Noahs could be kind and gentle too! Why must they start a killing spree whenever they saw exorcists? Lenalee was surprised to realize that she didn't want Tyki to get hurt as much as she didn't want Allen to. She struggled and tried to free herself. Still her Innocence would not activate.  
"Don't worry Lenalee! I'll protect you," said Allen as he gently pushed Lenalee behind him, "and your baby." Lenalee parted her lips as she watched Allen turned to face Tyki again. There was no baby! How could Allen, of all people, also think she had a child? She stretched out her arms towards Allen but he had already rushed forward and attacked Tyki with his black claw. Lenalee dropped to her knees and watched as Allen distanced away. All of a sudden, she felt cold and dizzy. She wanted to scream. She wanted to run up to Allen and tell him she loved him.

Tyki blocked Allen's attacks with ease and was enjoying the fight. He launched another attack back swiftly at Allen.  
"So you admit that's your child!" said Tyki as he leaned in close to the exorcist, forcing the smaller sized youth to back up a step. He didn't wait for the teen to reply before he kicked him in the stomach. Allen fell backwards and landed hard on the ground.

"That's for giving me all the troubles!" shouted Tyki as he stormed over to him. "And this-," sneered Tyki as he kicked Allen on the ribs, "is for Lenalee!" Before Tyki realised it, he had blurted it out. He did not understand why he said that.  
Lenalee's eyes widened in horror and scrambled over to Allen's side. "Stop this! Tyki! Stop!" she screamed and flung herself over Allen, trying to shield his body from the assault. Tyki halted his foot in mid-air immediately, just in time before he crushed into the girl's flesh. He cursed under his breath and pulled the girl up.  
"Are you insane? Back off!" cried Tyki, "Watch the baby!" Seeing Lenalee refused to let go of Allen, he tightened his grip on her arm and dragged her up. Without realizing his strength and anger, he accidentally threw Lenalee away from Allen. The girl landed a few feet away.  
"Oh no!" gasped Tyki and he quickly went over to her. Lenalee was wincing from the pain and she glared at Tyki as he knelt down beside her. "Hey, are you alright? I didn't mean to do that," Tyki apologized softly. Lenalee softened up despite she hated Tyki for hurting Allen. She wiped the tears off her face and asked, "Why do you have to fight? Why? Allen is your half sibling, isn't he?" If only Tyki would be on their side and not their enemy!

Tyki was speechless. He didn't know really. It was in his Noah blood to hate all exorcists. But… that wasn't it when he attacked Allen just then. He felt angry and overwhelmed with a feeling that was eating him out. As a Noah of Pleasure, those weren't exactly his specialty.  
"I don't know!" sneered Tyki. Turning his face away from the girl's gaze, he found Allen was charging at him. He immediately distanced himself from Lenalee. In a blink of an eye, Allen pounced Tyki and knocked him over.  
"Stay away from her!" cried Allen as he rolled onto the ground together with Tyki. While the two were struggling, Lenalee felt a light tug on her arm. She swirled around and saw another Noah smiling at her.  
"Road?" asked Lenalee nervously.  
"Come with me! It's dangerous here!"  
"B-but -"  
"It's ok! I'm taking you home!"  
"But I want to be with Allen!"  
"Go home!"  
A portal door emerged silently from thin air behind Lenalee and before she could refuse, she was pushed through the dark space. All she could hear was the echo of Road's laughter.

Allen thought he heard Lenalee calling out to him. When he glanced over to where he last saw Lenalee, there was no one there. He looked sideways and then turned round and round. Lenalee was no where to be seen. She was gone! Damn it! He should have known there would be other Noahs in the ark! They had taken Lenalee from him again.  
"Lenalee!" shouted Allen but he was caught off guard by Tyki. He was punched in the face hard, knocked over again by a maddened Noah.  
"Where are you looking, kid?" laughed Tyki as he released a dozen of evoluted Teases. Now that Lenalee was not around, he could let his Tease fly out freely. He wasn't sure why Road had taken Lenalee. It could be by the Earl's orders. He watched as his beloved pets fluttered around the exorcist.  
"Now, what should I do with you?" smirked Tyki.  
Allen glared at him and asked, "What's it with you? You swore you would never marry Lenalee! So what's this supposed to be? We had a deal!"  
Tyki hesitated. They did had a deal. Tyki taught Allen the trick of pretending to be him at the wedding using Neah's appearance. The deal was Allen gets his girl and Tyki gets his freedom. A deal was a deal. The Noah gritted his teeth upon the exorcist's words. To be honest, he didn't know really. He should have let Allen take Lenalee away.

"Yes, a deal indeed! You broke the deal first Allen Walker!" boomed a voice from not far away. The two men swirled around. Allen gasped as he recognized this man. It was the Earl. The man gave a crazed laughter and Tyki backed away slowly, trembling slightly at the sound. Tyki had heard that sort of laughter before, and he knew something terrible was going to happen. He took a few steps back and bumped into something. Someone to be exact. He didn't need to turn around to know who that was. The person behind him glomped onto him immediately.  
"Tyki! My gorgeous brother!"  
"Let go, Sheril!"  
"We need to leave now! This place will get ugly real soon!"  
"W-why?"  
Tyki stopped struggling and was about to ask about the Earl's sudden appearance when he was pulled into a portal by Sheril.

"What? How did I break the deal?" shouted Allen angrily. The teen was too absorbed at the man in front of him to realize Tyki was gone. The Earl gave another wave of laughter and he silenced himself dramatically. He strolled up to Allen as he spook, "where's Neah, Allen Walker?" The Earl fixed his gaze at Allen, like a lion at a prey. Allen froze upon hearing Neah's name.  
"What have you done to Neah? Allen Walker!" hissed the Earl and his attitude becoming colder, "It should be Neah standing in this ark! Not you! Where is he? My beloved Fourteenth!"  
Allen tried to recall what happened at the wedding. He lost Neah sometime during the chaos. Neah never resurfaced again after the wedding. He didn't know what happened to Neah. Was he... gone? Allen tried to avoid the Earl's eyes.  
"Answer me, boy!" cried the Earl, "You promised Neah his body in exchange for the place at the altar! And you cheated! You cheated!" The Earl shook Allen vigorously by his shoulders. Allen faintly recalled this had happened before. It was not like Neah could be shook out of him this easily. He tried to push the Earl away but the man was stronger.  
"H-how did you know about what Neah and I talked about?" asked Allen weakly. A little bit of guilt was drilling into his heart now. Where was Neah? He had completely forgotten about Neah, being too over-joyed after marrying Lenalee.  
"I know a lot of things, Allen Walker!" hissed the Earl as he leaned close to face the exorcist. He continued, "and I know you're not the father of the child!"  
The Earl released Allen as the exorcist froze upon his words.  
"Yeeeees... how does it feel like to be betrayed?" cooed the Earl and he watched Allen's heart sank into the abyss. The boy sank to his knees and he tried to grab hold of the Earl's suit to keep himself up.

"... betrayed...?"  
The boy chuckled. He stood back up to his feet and looked up at the Earl. The Earl widened his eyes at the golden orbs piercing at him. It was Neah.

-to be continued-


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own the Dgrayman characters, they belong to Katsura Hoshino. This is done solely for the sake of fan-girlism.  
As always, feedbacks and comments are welcomed and appreciated. :3

**Father of the Child**

by Sceaduw

_{Part IX}_

"What... happened?" groaned Lavi. He fluttered open his eyes and saw a huge woman looming over him. The Head Nurse wasn't exactly the first person he wanted to see. The nurse gave him a look of relieve.  
"How're you feeling?" asked the nurse gently with a smile.  
"I think I'm fine... Hey, Yu! Where's Yu? Is he okay?"  
"Don't call me that! Stupid Lavi!"  
Lavi was relieved to hear a familiar voice boomed across the room. He sat up despite the pain on his back and looked over to Kanda across the room. The swordsman was in a much worse state than him. Kanda was all bandaged up and tied down in bed. The only thing that was able to move was... probably his mouth. Lavi gasped at the terrible sight. He tried to get out of bed but the Head Nurse stopped him.  
"Don't worry about Kanda. He'll recover soon," reassured the nurse. Lavi nodded and laid back down into his bed. He closed his eyes but only to open them again after a few seconds. Hang on, he felt there was something they were supposed to do...  
"Hey, Yu!"  
There was no response from his comrade.  
"Hey~ Kanda~~!"  
"What?"  
"Why are we here? Do you remember what happened?"  
"Obviously we were attacked! Stupid Lavi!"  
"Yes, I know that, but by who?"  
"Akumas of course! Maybe by a Noah! We are this seriously hurt!"  
"You mean... we were attacked in the mission?"  
"... what else would happened to us? We have just returned from mission!"  
"Oh... yes, I sort of remember it now... We were on mission with Lenalee. Lenalee! W-where's she?"  
"If she's not here, then she's fine."  
Lavi sat up again and looked around. Good, the other hospital beds were empty. Seeing the two youths were awake, the Head Nurse left them and attended to other patients in the next ward.  
"Kanda, do you remember who exactly attacked us?"  
"... No, not really. But whoever that was, we should have killed him already."  
"Oh, right."

There was a moment of silence. Then Lavi sat up again.  
"Hey, Kanda!"  
"What is it now?"  
"Is there something we're supposed to do? I mean, after the mission."  
"I guess not if we're in this state. Didn't we get here straight away after the mission?"  
"I suppose so... but I have this feeling bugging me! There seems to be something missing... ARGH!"  
"Shut up, Lavi! I'm trying to get some sleep!"  
"Oh... sorry."  
Lavi fell back onto his bed and closed his eyes. He tried to recall but nothing came to mind. He tried again but only a sharp pain pierced through his brains. So they came back from the mission with Lenalee. He faintly remembered seeing Komui and Reever. Where was Lenalee? He could remember coming to the Hospital Ward with her... what happened afterwards? Lavi was certain he was not injured at that moment. So why were they here now?  
"Hey, Kanda!"  
Again, there was silence.  
"Kanda! Something's not right!"  
"Kanda's asleep! Call again tomorrow!"  
Kanda cursed silently. How was he supposed to recover soon if he couldn't get some rest? He dozed off tiredly when Lavi remained quiet for the next few minutes. Then a pair of hands pushed on his arm and continued until he snapped open his eyes in fury.  
"WHAT!"  
"Kanda, something's not right-"  
"Of course something's not right! It's not right to disturb other people's sleep! Now get lost!"  
"Kanda, we're not injured when we came back! Something happened after we came back!"  
"That's not possible."  
"I'm worried. We have to find Lenalee to see if she's alright!"  
To Lavi's surprise, Kanda struggled off the bandages and sat up. The swordsman looked as though he was never hurt.  
"If she's fine, I'm going to use you to sharpen my Mugen."  
Lavi could tell Kanda was concerned with Lenalee too.  
"What're you smiling about, stupid Lavi?" sneered Kanda as he got out of bed slowly. His legs wobbled slightly but he managed to walk by himself.  
"Hey, wait for me!" shouted Lavi and he scurried behind Kanda. They sneaked out of the Hospital Ward, all the time praying the Head Nurse would be occupied with another patient in a far away room.

.

.

"What's going on? Where's Lenalee?" asked Waizurii as he strolled into the dinning room, looking for something to eat. His little nap was quite refreshing but the growl of his stomach woke him up. To his disappointment, there was nothing edible on the long table. He was surprised to see Sheril talking to Tyki, seemingly getting along quite peacefully at the table.

"There you are, Waizurii! Did you see Devit and Jasdero?" asked Sheril in a merry tone. Waizurii shook his head and smiled innocently. No, he had not seen the twins since he knocked their minds out. He wondered if they were still lying unconscious outside Lulu's chamber. Boy, would Lulu be so mad to see them lying outside when she woke up. That woman treasured her own territories.  
"Humm... I wonder where they've gone to? Anyway, Waizurii, did you send Lucy safely back home?" asked Sheril with a sly grin.

"Well, yes. Safe and sound," replied Waizurii without hesitation.  
"Oh pity, but nevermind! She's a drunk and I'm sure she won't remember anything when she woke up!" laughed Sheril. Waizurii noticed Tyki was being really silent. The man was leaning back on the chair and staring right through the endless ceiling, way into the distance unknown. Waizurii didn't need to use his demon eye to know Tyki was deep in thoughts.

"So I've gone through all the troubles for nothing!" gasped the psychic. The man had made up his mind to marry Lenalee?  
"Get out and stay out of my head, Waizurii!" warned Tyki without even looking at him. He gave the teen a furious glare. Tyki couldn't risk Waizurii broadcasting his secret thoughts to Sheril and ruin his plans. Sheril smiled in satisfaction and patted Tyki on the shoulder. He announced, "Tyki's getting married, Waizurii! In fact, he's going to be a father really soon!"

Oh, the 'wonderful' wedding again! Waizurii tried to smile with his face muscles twitching uneasily. He winced at Sheril's joyful squeals. How soon would Tyki be a father? Not until he got some eggs fertilized first, thought Waizurii. He really wanted to scream into their faces. There was no baby. Lenalee was not pregnant for goodness sake! Wait a minute, was he the only one who knew this? Damn... this was just like the time when only he knew the groom was actually Allen. The loneliness of being a psychic, Waizurii had to endure it all.

"Congratulations, Tyki," said Waizurii with his most sincere tone. Tyki smiled as he stood up. Waizurii then added, "but she's not a toy."  
Tyki curled his lips into an wicked grin. Waizurii read his mind and saw nothing new. Although nothing novel, every time it was surprising and even shocking. Tyki had another plan hatching. Now that Waizurii came to think of it, the only things that Tyki was able to hatch were plans that were doomed to fail.  
"But she's fun to play with," replied Tyki before he left the room, leaving behind an enthusiastic Sheril and a frustrated Waizurii. The teen had the expression of 'oh-here-we-go-again' written across his face.  
"Come, Waizurii, let's get things ready! I'll go tell the Earl and you go get Road. She's got Lenalee with her."  
"But-"  
"No buts! Go!"  
"Where's Road exactly?"  
"She should have taken Lenalee to safety. In her playhouse most likely."  
"Shouldn't Tyki be going to get her?"  
"Tyki needs to go settle the score with Al- OH NO!"  
Sheril screamed and he rushed out of the room. Waizurii winced from the mental stab as well as the physical cry. The word 'EARL' was blasted into his mind. Before he could utter a 'wtf', he hurried after the older Noah.  
"How could I have forgotten! I'm too carried away!" shrieked Sheril as he ran. Waizurii followed as quickly as possible. To his surprise, Sheril was a sprinter. A good one too considering his age.  
"What's going on?" cried Waizurii, already out of breath from a brief moment of exercise.  
"The Earl is out there with Allen! We have to stop Tyki! It's too dangerous for him to get caught between them now!" Sheril's voice faded from up front. The man didn't wait for Waizurii and disappeared ahead.

-to be continued-


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own the Dgrayman characters, they belong to Katsura Hoshino. This is done solely for the sake of fan-girlism.

As always, feedbacks and comments are welcomed and appreciated. :)

**Father of the Child**

by Sceaduw

_{Part X}_

"Brother!" cried Lenalee as Komui hugged onto her, "Are you alright?"  
"Yes, yes, I'm fine, Lenalee! Oh my poor Lenalee! What have they done to you?" sqeaked Komui. He examined Lenalee from head to toe for any possible injuries. He gave a gigantic sigh of relieve when he found none. Then he bent over from his own pain. His injuries reminded him of reality.  
"Brother, you shouldn't be moving around," said Lenalee, face grimaced with guilt. If the Noahs weren't after her, her brother wouldn't be hurt. It was all her fault. She helped him back onto the hospital bed.  
Reever stood aside in silence and watched the two siblings reunited. He was surprised to see Lenalee appeared out of a portal door. Technically, she was being pushed out from it by a Noah. Reever didn't tell Komui, fearing the man would freak out by the Noahs appearing again. He just led the girl to his supervisor and told him that she had returned safely. Whatever happened to them, Reever prayed that it was all over.  
"Brother, I'm sorry," began Lenalee softly, "I failed to protect you. My Innocence..." She swallowed hard and tried to hold back her tears. Komui stroked the few strands of hair from her face.  
"No, Lenalee... I failed you. It's my fault that you suffer so much."  
"Brother...?"  
"It's me. I'm too selfish to let you go... My dear Lenalee! I can't bear to see you with another man!"  
"Brother...! What are you talking about?"  
Seeing the faint blush over his sister's cheeks, Komui began to cry hysterically.  
"Lenalee! My sweet angel!"  
"Brother! Pull yourself together! Are you still upset over the marriage?"  
Lenalee pouted and patted Komui gently on the head. Komui whimpered and sniffled, but he managed to squeeze out a question. A question that he was scared to death for asking, fearing the answer he would hear from his sister's lips. Summoning all the courage he could have in his life, he asked with trembling lips, "Lenalee, do you, absolutely, with no regret, and must, with no alternatives, love Allen Walker?"  
Reever couldn't believe his ears. This called for a celebration. Komui had finally asked the question. It was an ultimate breakthrough. He quietly left the room for the sake of their privacy and waited outside.

"Reever? What are you doing here?"  
The lab scientist looked up and saw two exorcists. Lavi approached Reever with a smile, followed by a grumpy swordsman. Reever could tell the two had sneaked out of the ward again, judging by the nervous glances shooting around by the two. The Head Nurse would surely be mad to find out patients were sneaking out again. Lavi was about to steal a glance at what was inside the room when Reever stopped him.  
"Give them a moment, I'm sure they don't want to be disturbed now," said Reever.  
"Lenalee's inside?" asked Kanda, pushing past Lavi.  
"Well, yes. She looks fine except in a bit of shock," replied Reever. He looked at the two and was surprised to see how they remained so calm after Lenalee and Komui had been kidnapped by the Noahs. He then widened his eyes knowingly.  
"Kanda, tell me what you've been doing since you returned from your mission," asked Reever. Kanda looked at him, face muscle twitched slightly as he made a small noise of irritation.  
"We just came out of the ward, Reever. I think we got straight to the ward when we came back... didn't we?" said Lavi but his voice quivered slightly in uncertainty. Kanda remained quiet. He couldn't recall anything after the mission.  
"Well, so Lenalee's fine! I need to get some rest now, stupid Lavi!" said Kanda and he turned to leave. Lavi tried to stop him but a cold stare from the swordsman kept him at bay.  
"Everything's fine now. Go get some rest, you two." Reever pushed Lavi away and gestured him to follow Kanda. After the two disappeared down the corridor, the scientist gave a heavy sigh. So that was the special experiment Komui was experimenting on a few days ago. He never thought memories could really be erased... just like that. He leaned tiredly back against the wall and hoped Lavi and Kanda could regain their lost piece of memory by morning.  
Hey, what caused Lavi and Kanda to lose memory? Cold sweat began to rain from Reever's forehead. Did the exorcists activate whatever Komui was experimenting on?  
"OH NO!" He pushed himself off the wall and fled down the corridor.

"Brother, I love Allen." replied Lenalee. Her words were clear and strong. Not a quiver and with no hesitation. "I love him as much as I love you," she gave her brother a cuddle. Komui held onto her affectionately and patted her on the back. He had always knew. But he just refused to acknowledge it.  
"I'm sorry for all this, Lenalee. I won't stop you two from seeing each other again. I promise," said Komui.  
"It's alright, brother, Allen will understand... But...," the girl trailed off into a whisper.  
"What is it?" Komui let go of her and asked.  
"It's just... I think Allen thought I have someone else's child... I know this sounds absurd! It really is! How could he..." Lenalee stopped. She quickly wiped her face with her hand and flashed Komui a weak smile. Komui's heart clenched at his sister's strained smile.  
"Don't worry Lenalee! Brother will fix everything! Once Allen comes back, I'll clarify everything!" roared Komui. He wasn't going to just stand around and let Lenalee cry. No one shall make Lenalee cry! ... Besides, it was him who told Allen that Lenalee was pregnant... Who would have thought Kanda was the first one to notice Lenalee's odd behaviour? If not for the swordsman's keen observations, he would still have believed Lenalee was carrying Allen's child.  
"Allen's still in the ark!" gasped Lenalee. Blushing furiously, she recalled the events before she was pulled away by Road. There was no way Lenalee could get back to the ark by herself. She was frightened. What if Road and Tyki joined forces and attacked Allen? Allen would be outnumbered! What if the Earl...  
She closed her eyes tightly, trying to shut out the images of the Earl. What if the Earl got hold of Allen? Lenalee trembled and dared not to think further. She was afraid of losing Allen. How could she be so useless? Why wasn't her Innocence responding? Why was all this happening? Why wouldn't the Noahs leave them alone?  
"Lenalee!" cried Komui, catching hold of Lenalee when she suddenly fainted. He touched her forehead and realized she had a high fever. "Reever! Reever! Get the Head Nurse! Get her here NOW!" he shouted but there was no response outside.  
"Allen...," the girl whispered as she passed off into blackness.

.

.

The Earl picked up the teen by the collar. He grinned at the young face.  
"Neah!" said the man as he leaned closer. His nose nearly touched the teen's.  
"Hello, brother," said the boy and he caressed the man's face. His fingers traced the jawline slowly before his hand withdrew from the coarse chin. The younger Noah then whispered, "Betrayed, you say? What can this little boy do to possibly betray me?"  
The Earl gave out an unwilling shiver as Neah glanced at him coldly. He was wearing that same eerie smile as the day he betrayed the Noahs. The man quickly released him. The teen laughed as he watched the Earl staggered backwards.  
"Neah! Come back to us! Come back to me! Leave Allen Walker behind! Leave them all!" pleaded the Earl. He could kill his sibling right here; he loved him but he also hated him. Still he loved him too much to destroy him. Killing him once was more than he could ever bear in the next millennium years.  
"Why should I? I'm happy as I am now! I enjoy being Allen Walker!" said Neah, looking off into the distant blue sky. Who would want to live inside the ark? This beautiful sky... was fake. Everything was fake, fake and fake here. Nothing was real in the world of the Noahs. Everything was the imagination of the Earl himself.  
"You enjoy being the shadow of an exorcist? That is absurd! Blasphemy against our family!" exclaimed the Earl. What was this kid thinking? "This exorcist life, it's not real! You're living behind the mask of Allen Walker!"  
"Oh? I can take off this mask whenever I want actually. I just choose not to. I enjoy... his life, his feelings, his everything!" said Neah as he turned from the Earl. The more Neah got to know Allen, the more he couldn't resist putting on this mask. He envied Allen's life. A real living life. "Now, if you will excuse me, I have a life to live!" Neah paused then he added, "don't try to interfere with Allen Walker... or else!"  
The Earl bit on his lip and tried not to scream with rage. He felt the blood in his veins boiled with anger. The dirty, little lamb! How could he, for the second time, turned his back on his own true family? The Earl drew out his sword and cried. Neah swirled around, startled and unexpecting the attack. He dodged the sword swing just in time.  
"You want to fight with me, my Earl?"  
"No, Neah! My dear, dear, dear Neah! I want to love you!"  
The Earl gave Neah a big sad grin before he plunged his sword at the teen. Neah dodged backwards again but this time he bumped into someone. The Earl swung his sword around and torn the vest Neah was wearing. Neah did not back off enough from the Earl and received a sword scratch across his chest. Blood began to soak out immediately. He glanced behind in fury and saw a surprised Tyki.  
"You!" sneered Neah and he punched Tyki in the face. Tyki gave a muffled wail and knelt onto the ground, rubbing his cheek in confusion. Neah tried to kick him but his leg passed through Tyki's body as if the Noah was made of thin air. Tyki stood up instantly and took a step away from his dangerous sibling.  
"W-who... Neah?" asked Tyki, "Why are you here?"  
"Tyki-pon! Get out of the way!" The Earl, smiling, landed his sword right next to Neah as the two younger Noahs jumped out of the way. The ground cracked open painfully, leaving behind a large hideous scar on the neatly arranged stone pavement.  
"Look out, Earl!" screeched Tyki, "You nearly hit me!" What was going on? Tyki couldn't work out what had happened. He only left for a very brief moment with Sheril and when he came back, Neah magically appeared and all hell broke loose.  
Oh... so this was what Sheril warned him about. How could he had totally forgotten about it? This was the 'ugly' thing! Tyki swallowed hard and tried to back out from the scene. He didn't want to get involved in Neah and the Earl's affairs. Last time when the Noahs got involved, they were all killed. No Noahs, sane or insane, would want to do that again.  
"Tyki! Don't worry about Lenalee! After I slain this bad lamb, she'll be all yours!" grinned the Earl. Neah shot Tyki a nasty glare, his golden orbs as if going to pop from their sockets. Tyki's face went pale. His determined plan to snatch Lenalee was dismembered by Neah. Well, he was planning to get Allen jealous and angry, so he could have a duel with the teen. It would be an excellent plan to 'lose' his 'beloved' woman to another man, so he had every right to refuse marrying any others again. A dignified and noble character so it would appeared to be. But not Neah. Definitely not Neah. With Allen, it would be a duel; with Neah, it would turn out to be a suicide. Tyki shook his head desperately at the Earl's statement and tried to say something but it was too late.  
"F*ck you! You are so dead! Noah of Pleasure!" sneered Neah, "You dare to steal MY WIFE?"  
"Technically, my dear Neah, it's not your wife! It's Allen Walker's wife!" smiled the Earl and he rested his sword on his shoulder, "You see how this whole thing is going ridiculous? Come back to us Neah! Leave Allen Walker, let Tyki have the girl and everyone will be happy!" Surely, Sheril would be happy too, thought the Earl.  
"Everyone? Don't you see why I leave in the first place? I hate you when you do this!" screamed Neah and he jumped the older man, knocking him over. He snatched the sword from the Earl's hand.  
"Now, now, Neah...," began the Earl, eyes locked on the teen's.  
"Time after time! You're still like this!" roared Neah. Tyki tried to edge himself away from the scene but he was spotted by Neah instantly. Tyki froze on spot. One wrong move and Tyki would taste the icy blade again.  
"My dear Neah, I have no idea what you're talking about!"  
"Earl, you always keep things to yourself! It's never about Tyki getting a woman! You want the Heart, just say it! Don't keep it to yourself! Don't always be the one who shoulder the burden!"  
The Earl's eyes widened in horror and then he relaxed a little, shifting his pose uneasily. He had always known Neah was a special one. Neah was the only one who truly knew him. This fledging would understand him more thoroughly than anyone else. Not even Road would read him like an open book. Not even Waizurii would dive so deep into his thoughts. Unfortunately, Neah had always been the one who hurt him the most. Tyki tried not to listen to anything. He didn't want to know. He just hoped he will survive this time.  
"Neah, you know about... the 'Heart'?"  
"I knew it right away when I saw what you were trying to do back at the wedding!"  
"Neah, I... I just want to end this battle! Once and for all!"  
"That's enough! That is not what we wanted! That is not what I wanted! That is just want you wanted!"  
"That is what the Noahs wanted! All of us! We must end this war! I MUST END THIS WAR!" The Earl boomed. The surrounding white washed buildings trembled. His voice thundered and echoed around the ark. It lingered and no souls dared to speak or move until it faded away.  
Sheril stiffened at the portal doorway. His legs felt numb and he watched helplessly as Tyki cringed at the Earl's anger. Neah, on the other hand, stood firm. The teen looked so sad that even Sheril felt a clench at his heart.  
"You... still not get it. Why I did what I had to do thirty-five years ago," whispered Neah, barely audible to Sheril.  
"Watch out Earl!" shrieked Sheril as he saw Neah raised the Earl's sword. He used his fine threads to restrain Neah's movement. Seizing the minute, Sheril rushed over to Tyki's side and pulled him far away from Neah. The threads did not hold the teen still for long before he broke away from Sheril's control. Lucky for Sheril and Tyki, Neah was too absorbed with the Earl to notice them. No matter how much they wanted to flee the place, it was their duty to protect their Earl. Their leader and their brother.  
"Stop this nonsense at once, Neah!" yelled Sheril from a distance. He knew very well he was no match for the Noah with the Earl's sword. This was proven during the last massacre when Sheril was slain by Neah with ease.  
"For the love of Road, looks like history is repeating itself," muttered Sheril. He trembled slightly when Neah turned his head slowly and glance over to the two.  
"Stay out, brothers. Don't make me shed blood again," hissed Neah with a gleam in his eyes. He turned back to the Earl and smiled, "let me settle this, my Earl. For once, this time, let me take the burden."

-to be continued-


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not own the Dgrayman characters, they belong to Katsura Hoshino. This is done solely for the sake of fan-girlism.  
Thank you for all the feedbacks! Really delighted to know you enjoyed the story and it thrills me to keep improving my writings~ As always, comments are welcomed and appreciated. :3

**Father of the Child**

by Sceaduw

_{Part XI}_

The room was empty. The youth scratched the back of his head and shouted again, "hey ROOOAD!" There was no reply. Road was not in her playroom, neither was Lenalee. Waizurii cursed under his breath and felt troubles were knocking on his door again. It disturbed him whenever he had to go report to Sheril, informing him that Road was missing. Well, not missing, just not at where Sheril expected her to be.  
Oh, where could they be? Waizurii closed his eyes and visualized the surroundings with his Demon Eye. Before he could pick up any useful thoughts around, a crack of thunder shook the entire ark. It was as if the ark was crumbling to pieces. The psychic was nearly knocked unconscious when the howl struck his mind. It was the Earl and he was furious. Just like last time when the ark was sunk by the fourteenth. The teen swirled around and ran out of Road's playroom. He hoped he was not too late. Waizurii then stopped in midway when a familiar figure appeared in front of him. Good, there she was.  
"Road! Where-"  
"Waizurii, what happened? Why is the Earl so angry?"  
Road's eyes were widened in horror and Waizurii caught her by the hand. He noticed her hand was trembling. Waizurii gave her a gentle squeeze and they both ran towards the source of the commotion.  
"Road, Sheril's looking for you and Lenalee. Where's the girl?" asked Waizurii but Road did not answer him. Who cared about the human girl now? Something was wrong at the Earl's side and that was the only important thing for them. The two Noahs remained silent on their way to the Earl.

"Neah! Do you think we will let you be so rude to the Earl?" warned Sheril as he approached Neah from behind. Tyki was at the doorway of the portal although he had no intention of escaping by himself. No matter how much he might loathe Sheril, he was still his blood brother. He released his Teases, large and small, all of them menacing above Neah's head. On his command, the flesh-eating golems would devour Neah's body. So Tyki hoped.  
Neah gave a twisted grin at the little creatures and then at the two older Noahs. A swift swirl of the sword, the Teases were torn and ripped apart into smithereens. Three seconds later, Sheril gave out a shriek. From his belly, A long, deep cut emerged. Sheril didn't even know how or when the blade impacted him. The only thing he realised was the immense pain and his blood gushing out. Tyki rushed forward and caught Sheril before he fell onto the ground. He sneered at Neah but Neah smirked cooly. Insignificant, as if Neah was saying to them.  
"Back down, Tyki. I'll handle this," said the Earl, "Leave us."  
Tyki grabbed hold of Sheril tightly and was about to back towards the portal doorway when two younger Noahs barged in from the other side.

"Y-you!" "Tee-hee! You! It's you!"  
"Hello, Jasdevi... or shall I say Devit and Jasdero?" said Neah.  
"What are you two doing here? Get out of here now!" Tyki shouted and tried not to let Sheril slip from his arms.  
"We heard the Earl! So-" "We heard! We heard! Heh!"  
The twins noticed the wounded Sheril, then they realised Tyki's facial expression, looked back at the long-time-no-see Neah and finally at the Earl's face. The Earl was not smiling. Devit swallowed uneasily while Jasdero stopped giggling.  
"Leave now twins, we're about to leave too. Don't ask, don't look at him, turn around and we'll leave here together now," said Tyki, trying to sound calm and behave like an adult. He heaved Sheril's arm over his shoulder carefully and began to back away again with the twins. Neah kept his eyes locked on the group. But he did nothing but just smile.  
Just a few more steps and they would be temporarily safe from the danger. Or so Tyki wished. Just when he was about to let out a cry of relief when he took the final step, another two youngsters came crashing in.  
"Tyki? Father?" cried Road when she looked up at the two grown ups. Waizurii caught a glimpse of Neah and immediately activated his Demon Eye.

_Hello Waizurii.  
Why are you here, Neah?  
Oh, didn't the family invite me here?  
We're only expecting Allen Walker, not you.  
That's too bad. Allen Walker is not here right now.  
I'm sure things can work out fine, just let me speak to Allen. It's about Lenalee!  
_Neah gave a tiny snigger._  
You may leave him a message, but I doubt he will get it._

Waizurii grimaced and took a step forward despite Tyki's attempt to keep the children back to the doorway. The poor man was trying to get the kids under control. Road was approaching Neah too now. The twins followed suit and Tyki whined in frustration. How did Sheril get the kids to do as he says? What strings did he pull? Oh... his threads. Tyki sighed. Sheril was still unconscious and his wound was getting worse.  
"Tyki, get father out of here, please!" said Road without looking back. Tyki didn't want to leave. He couldn't just let the children deal with Neah. Neah would surely show no mercy.  
"Children, all of you leave us," said the Earl. He forced out a smile. He knew Neah was also waiting for all of them to back out. Neah didn't want to hurt the children as much as the Earl didn't wish to. But patience was limited. And mercy even less. "Go NOW!" the Earl commanded finally.  
"Come with me, all of you! You too Road!" shouted Tyki. From the look on Neah's face, the way he kept stealing glances at Tyki, Tyki knew for sure the next one to go down would be himself. He had an awful feeling if all of them didn't evacuate in the next ten seconds, he would not be walking through, but carried through the portal door.  
"It's Lenalee, isn't it?" Waizurii blurted out at Neah awkwardly, "You're here because of her?... And the baby I presume?" Tyki's eyes widened in horror.  
"Waizurii!" Tyki hissed. How dare the psychic brought up this taboo issue! Now he would be certified dead.  
"We'll give her back to you!" added Waizurii. Road eyed Waizurii nervously. Oh no. They couldn't do that. Not when they didn't have Lenalee anymore. She had dumped Lenalee back to the Black Order. It had to be done, Lenalee was in the way of Tyki and Allen. If not for the baby's sake, she would have got rid of the girl once and for all.  
"By the way, for all your information, Lenalee's not pregnant," reminded Waizurii out of good will, "just in case you guys are fighting over the paternity of the non-existing baby."  
There was a brief, yet felt like eternal, silence.  
Waizurii was amazed at how everyone's thoughts were suddenly synchronized into a long blank bleep. For a second, the psychic thought he had gone deaf. It was the first time he could hear nothing among living souls. Seeing no one actually responded to him, Waizurii added, "I'm serious. I knew when I first saw her and read her mind."  
Then the world exploded, along with Waizurii's mind. Everyone began screaming and yelling mentally.

_WHAT THE HELL!  
THE GIRL'S NOT? SHE'S NOT?  
NO BABY! NO WAY!  
WHAT? WHAT? WHAT! HEE HEE!  
SHE TRICKED US! HOW DARE SHE!  
I'M TOTALLY FOOLED!  
AM I TOO STUPID?  
WHERE'S SHE NOW! _

Among the racket, the psychic faintly heard some dull poundings. He noticed it came from the Earl.  
MY HEART..._ My heart... heart..._

"Waizurii, if you knew in the first place, why didn't you say so?" asked Road, bravely breaking the terrifying silence. Although she quite enjoyed the fun previously, it did get frightening when Neah ended up wielding the Earl's sword. She was not pleased to see Sheril injured. Well, come to think of it, Sheril caused it all when he brought Lenalee to the ark in the first place.  
Everyone turned to Waizurii for an answer. Their looks were emitting a strange feeling of disdain. The psychic felt discriminated. Usually, no one wanted him to peep into other people's mind, let alone announcing what he had read. Hey, he could have kept it as a secret for longer. He explained everything so he could save their asses from being kicked by Neah. So this was how his siblings repay his kindness.  
"Shouldn't you all be asking Tyki why he didn't deny his relationship with Lenalee? He had been planning to escape from his own marriage all along!" retaliated the teen, shifting all the glares now to Tyki. Tyki gaped but he didn't know what to say. That was exactly what he had been doing. He growled at Waizurii who looked away innocently while further adding to the fact that Lucy was a fake wife too. Lucy was Lulu Bell, their Noah sister. The only thing real was Lulu being drunk.

If Sheril had heard it all, he would be anything but forgiving. Tyki felt like dropping his brother and running away. But he couldn't. Both the Earl and Neah wouldn't let him run far anyway, that he was sure. Not even two steps behind to the portal door.

"Look, I just don't want to get married," said Tyki, "but this is not the issue here now! Neah, I don't know what's going on between you and the Earl. If I had known thirty-five years ago, I had no memory of it now. The burden you mentioned, if there's anything we, as a family, can help, let us help you!"  
Now seemed a good time to resolve the conflict between the Earl and Neah. Maybe the two didn't realise, but every other Noahs in the family were concerned about them. At least during when Neah appeared. They might be jealous of the special attention Neah was getting from the Earl, but still, they wanted the Earl to be happy. Waizurii nodded silently. He knew there used to be a time when the Noahs were actually blissful. Tyki should care, afterall, he was the Noah of Pleasure.  
"I'm not the one who needed help, Tyki," replied Neah gently. He closed his eyes and threw the sword back to the Earl. The man caught the sword with ease. "You heard your children, my Earl."  
"Neah, come back to me!"  
"Try and remember who you used to be, my dear Earl."  
Neah lowered his voice into a whisper. Tyki and the rest of the Noahs couldn't hear him anymore. They were surprised by Neah's sudden change in attitude. Road tried to sneak in closer but Waizurii stopped her. He shook his head. Road pouted and demanded Waizurii to tell her all that he could eavesdrop on the two.  
"Neah, don't-"  
"It's alright. Let the Heart go. The war ended since the union between the Noah and the Innocence, did it not?"  
"But the Vatican-"  
"Who cares about that organization? Not me, not them," Neah pointed at his siblings, "not the exorcists, not Allen Walker. Only you. You cared to destroy the Vatican too much that you destroyed every other thing." He paused to give a heavy sigh, he continued, "you destroyed us."  
The Earl fell into silence. He tried to avoid Neah's gaze. His lips tightened into an ugly grimace. The man tried to stay calm, trying not to look offended.  
Neah chuckled and leaned in close to him. He rested his forehead on the Earl's shoulder and said, "do what you have to do, my beloved Earl, not what you want to do. If you're too tired and you can't do that anymore, I shall take over as the Millennium Earl."

The Earl did not speak or move. He remembered. That was why Neah appeared each time. Each time when the Earl was lost in his madness. That was what Neah was born to do as the Noah of Destruction. He was destined to destroy chaos and restore order. And then... the child was destined to be destroyed by the Millennium Earl. Neah was the Earl's keeper. His secret guardian.  
The Earl didn't want that. He wanted to be with Neah. He wanted Neah. He... wanted.  
The man's eyes widened with pain. He grabbed Neah by the throat and pinned him down onto the ground. To the other Noahs' horror, the Earl pierced the sword into Neah's chest, pinning the teen firmly onto the stone pavement. Road gave out a cry but Waizurii hugged onto her, stopping her from getting near the Earl. So much feelings radiated from the Earl that Waizurii had to struggle to keep his Demon Eye open. He thought his head was going to explode and he clutched tighter onto Road's smaller body. The twins turned away. No matter how much they disliked Neah, they wouldn't want to witness his death. Again. Tyki saw it through, and on behalf of Sheril.  
Neah did not resist as he coughed out a mouthful of blood. He raised up his hand slowly and caressed the Earl's face.  
"Why are you crying, my beloved Earl? Isn't this what you have to do?"  
"This is not what I want to do, Neah."  
"Yes... finally my Earl."  
"Go now, my dear Neah."  
Neah dropped his hand as the Earl pulled out the sword.  
"Don't come back again."  
"Don't make me come back again."  
Neah grinned and closed his eyes. It didn't take long before the Earl saw through his tears that Neah was gone. Lying in front of him was Allen Walker. The teen was deep in a slumber but breathing steadily.

"Hey-"  
"Shhhh! Waizurii, give the Earl a moment."  
"But-"  
"What is it that you must say at this delicate moment?"  
Road mumbled annoyingly. She wiped away her tears and gave Waizurii a light slap on the arm. Tyki nodded in agreement.  
"What is it, Waizurii?" asked the Earl. He looked up from the sleeping Allen and grinned at the Noahs. His tear marks were freshly visible despite his wide grin. Road rushed up to him and gave him a big cuddle. The Earl chuckled and patted her on the head. He then felt lonely when Road proceeded to care for Allen. Tyki, still carrying Sheril on his back, stumbled over to the Earl and gave him a reassuring smile. The twins strolled up to him too. Although not saying anything warm and friendly, their presence already showed the Earl much loving.

_Earl, Neah said he loved you too. _

Waizurii paused and waited as the Earl pulled himself together.

_He also said, don't go look for the new Heart anymore. In time, Allen Walker will bring us new blood, new power. _

The Earl trembled and refrained from bursting into tears.

_Thank you Waizurii._

The Earl gave Waizurii a slight nod of appreciation.

"Come on, Waizurii, spill it out!" "Tee-hee! Spill it! Spill it! Hee!" the twins urged the psychic to reply the Earl's question. Waizurii raised an eyebrow at them and sighed.  
"Oh, I just wanted to say... Sheril is bleeding himself to death as we speak!" Waizurii rolled his eyes at the trail of blood left behind by his adoptive father. Tyki shrieked and the Earl rushed over to help Sheril. Seeing nothing fun to do there, the twins shrugged and was about to leave. Then they remembered. They eyed Waizurii with playful malice. Now was pay back time for the knockout slap they got from the psychic earlier.  
Uh-oh, thought Waizurii and he made a run for the door.

"Allen! Hey hi!" Road smiled down at the awakened exorcist.  
"R-Road...?" Allen was still dumbfounded. He felt nothing but drowsiness. Every piece of his muscles screamed out in pain as he tried to sit up. He faintly remembered seeing Lenalee but everything was fuzzy and unreal. Road gently touched his forehead and rested his head on her thighs.  
"It's alright now, Allen."

_Sweet dreams, Neah. _

"I want to see Lenalee, Road...," Allen trailed off weakly. He gritted his teeth in discomfort. His arms and legs didn't seem to belong to him. He squirmed and tried to sit up once again.  
"Don't you want to see Tyki?" asked Road as she helped him up.  
"No... yes! Tell Tyki to stay away from Lenalee!" Allen groaned, "I just want to be with Lenalee. Where is she?"  
Road tilted her head slightly and pouted. She realised she had made a mistake all along. A big mistake. Too bad, she would love to see Tyki and Allen happily together. She stroked Allen's bangs away from his forehead as she hesitated on giving him an answer. She traced his cursed mark with her finger, causing Allen to writher away from her touch.  
"Road!" Allen uttered and grabbed her wrist. Road peered into his eyes. She thought she saw her brother again. Allen watched as Road closed her eyes.

_Neah, what would you want?_

The little Noah snapped open her eyes again. She had made up her mind. Taking a quick glance at Tyki and the Earl, who were busy tending to Sheril's wound, she turned back to Allen and whispered, "I'll take you to her, but you must come quietly! Father mustn't find out about it!"

Allen nodded and followed Road through a portal door silently.

-to be continued-


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own the Dgrayman characters, they belong to Katsura Hoshino. This is done solely for the sake of fan-girlism.  
As always, feedbacks and comments are welcomed and appreciated. :)

**Father of the Child**

by Sceaduw

_{Part XII}_

She strolled through the block wearing a lovely smile, greeting and being greeted by people living in the Black Order. She scanned the passers-by, silently detecting their brain waves and pheromones levels. She continued to smile, knowing there was no need to activate any of her assault programs.

"Hello, Lenalee! Back from the mission? Thank God!" said a stranger.  
The girl smiled back. From her database, she knew this man was another exorcist.  
"Yes. I'm back."  
They walked past each other casually. She was about to continue venturing through the place when the man called out to her.  
"Hey, Lenalee, are you hurt? There's blood on your skirt!"  
The man reached out and grabbed her by the arm.  
"Listen, Lenalee, there's something I wanted to-"  
"Program activation. Target for extermination!"  
"H-huh?"  
The man's eyes widened as 'Lenalee' swirled around and headbutted him. Then he felt he was being stung by a million needles. The girl was leaning in close to him and her long dark hair was eerily attaching to his head. He tried to scream but he felt numb. Before the man knew it, he woke up in the Hospital Ward.

The Head Nurse sighed and cocked her head.  
"What's going on, how come there's suddenly so many people here?" asked Lavi. He jumped out of bed and went over to help the Head Nurse. He tiptoed past the sleeping Kanda, fearing the slightest noise would wake the swordsman up.  
"I have no idea! All these people! Some of them are not injured but found unconscious!" The Head Nurse handed one of her patients a cup of water. "There you go, can you tell me what happened?" she asked. She hoped she could get an answer from this one. The man shook his head after he took a sip of water. The Head Nurse shrugged in defeat and told the man to take a good rest.  
"Come on, who attacked you? Can you remember anything?" Lavi asked the man. He knew there was something fishy going on in the Black Order. He felt he was getting close but not close enough to find the truth.  
"It's no use! Like all the others, he has lost his recent memories," shouted the Head Nurse from the other side of the room. Kanda stirred in his sleep but he was deep in his dreams.  
"I-I'm sorry...," whimpered the man, lowering his head. Lavi saw the man's hands were shaking and he stopped interrogating him. Wait a second, everyone was losing memory... What if that was also what happened to him and Kanda? Lavi rushed over to Kanda's bed and shook the sleeping form.

"Kanda! Wake up! WAKE UP! We're in troubles!" shouted Lavi. The young bookman paused when he felt a slight tremble from underneath the bed cover. Kanda slowly turned in his sleeping position and faced the exorcist. His eyes opened ever so slowly, his lips letting out a low growl. Lavi backed off a step.  
"No, WE are not in troubles, Lavi," began Kanda as he sat up, "only YOU are!" The swordsman flashed his Mugen from under the covers and gave Lavi a slice.  
"You're sleeping with Mugen?" sniggered Lavi as he dodged another sword swing.  
"Prepare to die!" sneered Kanda and he jumped off bed.  
"QUIET YOU TWO!" snapped the Head Nurse as she rushed over to the two, stopping them from destroying the ward. "What is wrong with you exorcists today? All coming up here without any injuries but losing their minds!"  
"Nurse, losing memories to be exact," said Lavi just before he received a punch from Kanda.  
"You mean we also lost our memories? Like the others?" asked Kanda after Lavi recovered from his assault. Lavi rubbed his sore cheek and nodded. His cheek was badly swollen and he couldn't move his jaws. Lavi believed Kanda did that on purpose. Just to shut him up. The Head Nurse gave Lavi a tiny bag of ice to ease the bruised flesh. Seeing Lavi couldn't speak and won't elicit anymore mayhem from Kanda, she then left the two alone.  
"So how did it happen? How did we lose our memories?" asked Kanda but Lavi just eyed him innocently. "Oh yes, you don't know because we lost our memories," sighed Kanda, "Then what are we supposed to do?" Lavi shook his head again.  
"Then what the hell did you wake me up for! Why can't you just let me sleep! I'm so damn tired after the mission!"  
With that, Kanda climbed back into bed. Lavi tried to protest but his swollen cheek reminded him of the danger of awaking the oriental beast. He watched in frustration as Kanda buried himself back into the pile of bedding.

Just when Lavi was going out of the ward, Komui rushed in, carrying Lenalee in his arms. The Head Nurse immediately tend to Lenalee, urging Komui to get out of her way. Lavi was really confused now. Lenalee was well when she came back from the mission, wasn't she? Reever told them she was fine a while ago too. So what was happening now? He looked over to Komui but the man was too occupied to notice him.

With Lenalee seriously ill, Kanda deep in a slumber, Komui too unhinged in tears, Lavi had to do the investigation by himself. If he could find out anything, maybe he could put a stop to it. He put down the bag of ice and went out of the ward. When they came back from the mission, the front gate was the last thing Lavi could remember before a blank interrupted his memory. That would be the first stop where he would start his investigation. With a bit of luck, maybe he would come across Reever again. He could ask Reever in details if the man knew anything. Lavi picked up his pace but he bumped into someone when he turned round a sharp corner.

_Allen!  
_  
"Lavi? Are you alright? I'm sorry, didn't see-"

_What's a Noah doing here?  
_  
Lavi pointed a trembling finger at Road. He tried to speak but a dull pain swell up in his face. He tried harder to hold back a tear of pain as he rubbed on his cheek. The girl snuggled up to Allen and pulled a face at Lavi. Allen pushed Road off him and hoped Lavi won't sprout any strange ideas.  
"She's taking me to Lenalee. Road has taken her back here already. Hey, are you alright, Lavi?" Allen cocked his head at the silent Lavi. It was very odd for Lavi to be able to keep his mouth shut. Then he noticed Lavi's swollen cheek.  
"Oh dear, I see... Lavi, you should brush your teeth, twice daily at least!" said Allen.

_No! Allen! This is not a toothache! And what's that about Road taking Lenalee?  
_  
"But I don't see your toothache earlier today. Did it deteriorate this badly in such a short time?" asked Allen, "Then it must be really bad!"

_You saw me earlier today? After I came back from the mission? Wasn't I in the Hospital Ward? Then you've still got your memory! You know what happened, Allen!_

Lavi's eyes glittered with hope.  
"Anyway, take care Lavi, I hope you'll feel better soon! I'm off to see Lenalee now!" smiled Allen as he waved Lavi goodbye.  
"W-wai-t-!"  
"What is it Lavi?"  
Allen frowned at Lavi. He tried to shake off Lavi's grasp. He saw Lavi was trying to say something but he was also anxious to see his beloved girl.  
"Lenalee... is... ill... seriously." Lavi felt his jaws crackled as he blurted out the words.  
"What do you mean? Is she in the ward?" Allen snapped and glared at Road. "Did you-"  
"I didn't hurt her, Allen, I swear! Not when she had a baby then..."

_What baby? _  
Lavi's eyes were about to pop out of his head. He felt even more confused.

"Then why-"  
Allen thought he heard her using past-tense there. A fearful thought crept up his mind. No, Road didn't. Road wouldn't have even though she could be a sadist like the other Noahs. The Noahs wouldn't hurt their blood family. They wouldn't hurt the baby, whether it be Tyki's child or... Allen refused to think further. With the Noahs trying to take Lenalee and the child, it must be child of a Noah. He paused and took a deep breath. Well, he was very sure it wasn't his. Anyway, he would know the truth once he got into contact with Lenalee. He must have faith in Lenalee...

"She was fine when I dropped her off here through the portal!" Road was on the verge of tears. She might do bad things, but she hated to be wronged for things she didn't do.

_The Noahs were here? Someone tell me what happened!  
_Lavi gritted his teeth and reached out to Road. Road jerked back and slapped his hand away. She gave the red-haired exorcist a sneer and made a threatening gesture with her right hand. To Allen's horror, a few small candles materialized from thin air. He immediately stepped in-between Road and Lavi. He could tell Road was not in her usual mood since she agreed to take him to Lenalee. Was Road jealous?  
"Stop it, Road! If you start a fight here, I'll...I'll... I'll hate you!" warned Allen, a faint pink flushed across his face. Road blinked and after a second or so bursted out in tears, laughing. Allen felt embarrassed, he didn't want the Noahs as his enemies. He didn't wish the war to go on. He wanted everyone to live, or coexist, peacefully together.  
"I mean, I'll hate it if you start a bloodshed here!" said Allen, trying to calm Road down. Lavi stood still, watching the two as if a drama was being played in a theatre. "Stop laughing! What's so funny about that!" cried Allen.  
Road wiped away her tears as she stopped her hysteric laughs. She looked up at Allen and gave him a grave smile.  
"You can't hate me, Allen!" said Road and she hugged onto him tightly. "Neah doesn't hate me," she whispered.  
Allen felt guilty for using Road's affection to him. He had always known Road liked him. His charms always worked well with Road. Now that he was married to Lenalee, he felt even worse. He kept telling himself this was not cheating. No it wasn't. He was just... using Road. Still, he felt an unpleasant sensation in his heart.  
Road refused to let go and she buried her face into his chest. Was this Allen's or Neah's heart beating so fiercely? Her own heart was pounding for a reason she denied. With failing attempts, she tried to convince herself he was Neah over and over again.

_For goodness' sake! Come on you two! I'm still here! Helloooo?_  
Lavi gave out a series of coughs and caught Allen's attention. He quickly pushed Road off him and gave out a cough himself. Road eyed him one last time before walking off on her own. Allen followed her quietly and neither one spoke anymore. Lavi said nothing since the two were heading towards the Hospital Ward anyway. He wondered if all hell would break lose if the two girls meet each other. Oh, Allen would be so dead then. Lavi tried to hide a snicker. He walked beside Allen and tried to start a conversation. Unfortunately, Allen was now in a terrible mood and refused to discuss anything regarding memory loss. Then Lavi changed the subject.  
"I just came out from the ward when Komui rushed in with Lenalee. She was really ill and was unconscious," Lavi said slowly. He seemed to get the hang of speaking without hurting his jaws too much. As expected, he got Allen's attention.  
"I swear, in the name of the Earl, that Lenalee was in good shape when I brought her back!" shouted Road from ahead. She quickened her pace, not wanting to wait for the ungrateful teen. Road regretted taking Allen back to Lenalee. If only she could stand up to his pleas...  
Lavi patted Allen on the shoulder. Seeing Allen so sad, he felt he was lucky to forget something. Especially anything to do with 'baby'. When did Allen get Lenalee pregnant anyway? Wasn't Lenalee on mission with himself and Kanda for sometime? Hey, was Allen really the fa-  
Lavi froze on spot.  
"What's up with you Lavi? You've been acting really strange. The toothache hurts that much? Maybe you should let the Head Nurse take a look at it too," said Allen.  
Lavi gave out a nervous laugh but the pain in his jaws shut him up mercilessly. It couldn't be! It would either be Kanda or himself! No way! But he couldn't remember anything about it! Did Allen know? Lavi stole a glance at Allen. Allen smiled back and gave Lavi a pat on the back instead.  
"Cheer up! I'm sure the Head Nurse has medication for that!" said Allen. Lavi swallowed hard and was silently saying his grace. Either it wasn't himself, or Allen didn't know about it. He refused to believe Kanda was the father either, but... he didn't remember anything happening between anyone with Lenalee during the mission. No, he REMEMBERED that NOTHING happened between anyone with Lenalee during the mission. They met Tyki, but it was brief, no more than one minute. That Noah was on the run and he didn't even touch Lenalee.

"Hey!" Road shouted, "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be sick?"  
The Noah's cries caught both Allen and Lavi's attention. The two ran up to her and saw a girl blocking Road's way.  
"Lenalee!" Allen cried as he rushed up to her, pushing past Road. Road watched with distaste as the two embraced each other. Lavi, on the other hand, stared at 'Lenalee' with disbelieve. How could the girl recover so soon? The girl standing there looked perfectly fit and healthy. Then he saw a familiar gleam in that girl's eyes. A sharp pain struck Lavi in the head. And he remembered... that was no Lenalee! That was... that THING!  
"ALLEN! GET OUT OF THE WAY!"  
Lavi shouted as he took out his hammer, activating his Innocence. Road jumped out of the way just in time to dodge the menacing hammer.  
"What are you doing?" asked Road although she didn't mind if Lavi killed Lenalee. If that was what Lavi had in mind, he had her full support!  
The hammer shot right through in-between the girl and Allen, forcing them apart. Allen was shocked but 'Lenalee' remained calm.  
"LAVI! What the HELL are you doing?" screamed Allen and he tried to reach for the girl. Just when he was about to take 'Lenalee's' hand, Road darted in and pulled him away.  
Road noticed there was something odd about this girl. This girl wasn't Lenalee but looked like Lenalee.  
Seeing her prey being taken away, 'Lenalee' locked her eyes on Road and began to chase after them. Allen tried to shake off Road's hold but he was worried when he saw Lavi tried to attack his girl again.  
"Stop it Lavi! What's wrong with you!" Allen shouted as he dashed towards Lavi, dragging Road with him.  
"This is LENALIN, Allen! Not LENALEE!" cried Lavi as he tried to hit the robot girl with his hammer. Unfortunately, the girl moved too fast for him. The robot also had a pair of black boots simulating Lenalee's Innocence.  
"WHAT?" shouted Allen, eyebrows knitting into a sign of total confusion.

Lavi demolished several brick walls before he managed to hit the moving target. When the dust settled, he realised Allen had blocked his attack with his Crown Clown and Lenalin was safely protected behind him. Sitting on the ground between Allen and Lenalin was Road. She had landed hard on the ground and was whining from the pain. She inwardly cursed Allen for being so inconsiderate to her.  
"Allen, move!" shouted Lavi but the teen won't budge. Allen was glaring at him coldly.  
"Lavi, don't make me fight you!" he sneered.  
Road was watching from behind and she found the whole thing amusing.  
"Come on Lavi! Hit her!" she cheered. Pulling Lenalin out from behind Allen, she pushed the girl towards Lavi.  
"Road!" cried Allen. He was too late, the Noah had pushed her out into the open. Seizing the opportunity, Lavi hoisted his hammer up high and struck it at Lenalin. The ground cracked open and Lavi smirked.

-to be continued-


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I do not own the Dgrayman characters, they belong to Katsura Hoshino. This is done solely for the sake of fan-girlism.

Forewords: I'm sorry if I screwed up the ending! (LizluvsSpongebob~ I hope you enjoyed this story! XDDD)  
As always, feedbacks and comments are welcomed and appreciated. :)

**Father of the Child**

by Sceaduw

_{Part XIII}_

Tyki picked up his pace, gliding across the cold stone corridor. He could see the twins didn't have a care in the world. Devit and Jasdero joyfully followed him close behind, joking and making fun of him all the way. It would be troublesome if they happened to come across any exorcists, especially the Generals. This was, afterall, the exorcists' headquarters. Tyki hated to come across any more troubles, he had had enough of it.

"Look, I can handle this by myself, you two really don't need to come with me," said Tyki, stealing a glance at the twins. The boys were too noisy and Tyki wondered why no one was aware of their intrusion so far. Oddly enough, there didn't seem to be anyone around. The place was too quiet.

"Oh, don't mind us! We're here for the fun!" Devit laughed, "And to keep an eye on you!"  
"To keep an eye on you! Heh heh!" Jasdero echoed.

"I'm not going to run away again, not when Sheril is so angry now." Tyki sighed. He inwardly cursed as he recalled how Waizurii told Sheril everything when Sheril finally woke up. It was a pure miracle that his brother didn't burst a blood vessel from discovering their little scam.

Without the twins tailing along, Tyki could have walked through walls and get to the girl in no time. Now he couldn't do that. He, on the other hand, had to keep an eye on the two teens. Bloodshed was not wise at this delicate moment.

"Yeah, Sheril's mad!" "Yeah! Mad, mad, mad! Tee-hee!"

"Well, he sure is if he really wants me to take Lenalee as my bride-"

"Do you really love her Tyki?" "Hehe-"

"That's not the point! She's married, you dumb asses! Besides, what do you two know of love?"

"Oh, we don't, but I bet Road knows!" "Eh-hehehe! Road knows! Road knows! Hee!"

Tyki grumbled and walked faster. Sheril was furious but the man was still sane. Whatever Sheril had in mind, Tyki was sure it had nothing to do with love. Now that they all knew Lenalee was not pregnant, he bet Sheril wanted revenge on the girl for humiliating him earlier. Tyki just hoped his brother would not kill the girl when he brought her back. Although he agreed to bring Lenalee back as his apology for lying to Sheril, he didn't really wish to see the girl getting hurt. Did he like Lenalee? Well, maybe. Did he love her? No. At least, he wouldn't want to suffer the wrath of Sheril for her sake. Anyway, it was good to know Sheril had finally decided to stop pushing him into marriage. That was the only benefit Tyki got from this whole fuss.

If Allen Walker finds out the Noahs were going to kidnap Lenalee again, Tyki wondered if Neah would reappear. Maybe, maybe not. Still, Allen alone would be a handful for him. Tyki gave a long sigh. Speaking of Road, they all noticed her special affection towards Allen. Who knew if Sheril was trying to eliminate Lenalee for Road's sake? Yeah, right, not in the next seven thousand years. Tyki was certain Sheril would strangle Allen if the boy ever laid a finger on his precious little daughter. So it would be pure revenge that Sheril wanted on Lenalee. Where was Road anyway? She was gone again along with Allen when they realised it.

"Hush! Someone's up front!"

Upon hearing Tyki's warning, the twins snapped into silence.

"No, lower your guns! No fighting... yet!"

Tyki hissed and heard the two whined in disappointment. It would be wise to avoid conflicts and steal the girl as soon as possible. Tyki really didn't want to spend any more time and energy on this matter. He further listened to the voices around the corner.

"She'll be fine, the Head Nurse said it's not anything life threatening. You should take some rest now. Otherwise, you'll be ill too. Your wounds are not yet fully recovered!"

"But I'm so worried. What if her symptoms persist? What if-"

"Calm down, Komui, Bookman is helping her now. I'm sure he can cure her in no time with his acupuncture treatments."

"Reever, I didn't know she was this worn out. It's all my fault! I was too obsessed!"

"Well, Lenalee deserves a nice quiet holiday. She did well in the past missions."

"Yes! I'll send Allen out and away immediately!"

"Komui, haven't you learnt your lesson yet?"

"Yes, yes... alright, I'll leave them alone. For now."

Tyki hoped these two men would walk away in another direction. If not, he would have to kill them. He waited until the voices faded as the men walked away just as he had wished for.

"I remember that voice! That's the funny guy in the wedding dress!" Devit whispered and Jasdero nodded in concordance, trying hard to suppress a giggle.

"What?" Tyki raised an eyebrow. A guy in a dress? A wedding gown? It seemed he had missed out something fun at Allen's wedding.

"That's the girl's brother! Let's follow him!" "Follow him! Tee-hee!"

"That's Lenalee's brother? He wore _THE_ dress?" Tyki hissed. Thank the Earl he didn't get involved in this family. He might just end up in _THE_ dress too if that man became his brother-in-law. Tyki shivered at the haunting thought and tried to snap out of it.

"No, we should go look for Lenalee!"

"Oh, come on! The girl's no fun!" "Yeah! No fun! Hee-he!"

Seeing the two refused to follow his orders, Tyki made a terrifying statement. "The longer we wander around in this place, the higher the chance we will bump into Exorcist General Cross Marian."

That did it. Tyki saw Devit and Jasdero's faces turned pale in horror and then flushed up with panic.

"Then what are we waiting for? We have to get the girl quick!" "Hee-hee! Quick! Quick! Quick!"

Tyki smirked and led the two into another corridor. His instinct told him he should go in opposite direction to, and as far away from, the man who had worn a wedding gown.

.

Lavi withdrew his hammer and waited for any movement from the cloud of dust. There was none. Allen held his breath. He couldn't believe Lavi just attacked Lenalee! Road was giggling with excitement. But when the dust settled, Lavi froze. Lenalin was not there.

"W-where did she go?"

"She's right here. What are you doing Lavi?"

Everyone turned towards the voice. Allen had never felt so fortunate to see Kanda in his life. Although Kanda was holding to his wife, he did save her life.

"Lavi! What was all that racket about? Are you trying to destroy headquarters?" asked Kanda as he shot a nasty look at the exorcist. He released the girl from his arms and observed the damages done by Lavi's hammer. Then he spotted Road. "And what's a Noah doing here?"

Kanda brought out his Mugen and pointed it towards Road. He took no notice of Lenalin as she strolled back to Allen's side.

"Kanda! Why did you save that thing? You're supposed to be on our side!"

"What do you mean? Why should I fight against an exorcist instead of a Noah?"

"NO! That's not Lenalee! That's Lenalin for crying out loud! Don't you remember?" Lavi was close to screaming but Kanda just made an irritated tsk sound. Obviously, the swordsman didn't recall anything as Lavi did.

Lavi had no chance to attack Lenalin now that Allen was shielding her protectively with his Crown Clown. Allen was shooting daggers at him too. He felt frustrated and had a bad feeling the robot would strike them down any time soon.

He was right. Lenalin's eyes glowed faintly as she smiled.

"Look at her, you guys!" Lavi swirled around his hammer and pointed it menacingly at the girl. "No, wait! Don't look at her! Get away from her!"

It was too late. Lavi found himself flying. Before Lavi lost consciousness again, he thought he heard multiple shrieks and screams.

.

Devit and Jasdero looked up as Tyki stopped suddenly. The wall at the end of the corridor collapsed and a body was being thrown out through the rubbles. Tyki narrowed his eyes, his golden orbs piercing through the obscurity of flying dust. He spotted his target.

"Hey, wait for us!" shouted Devit as Tyki sprinted towards the commotion. Tyki moved too fast for them and he disappeared into the cloud of dust. The twins struggled through the barrier of heavy dust. They were coughing and tears streamed down their eyes. Their bodies couldn't pass through physical substances like Tyki's, and they had a tough time trying to get through without suffocating themselves.

Devit and Jasdero found themselves accidentally treading onto a body lying face down on the ground. "He's... an exorcist?" They could barely recognize him, he was badly beaten. "Hey! Allen Walker!" Then they recognized him by his white hair. Who on earth did that to him? The twins made no attempt to help the exorcist but advanced forward and tried to look for Tyki. It seemed someone powerful was up there.

Tyki was way ahead of the twins. He got past the rubbles and found more people on the ground. One of them was Road. He leapt over to her and gently picked her up in his arms.

"Hey, Road! Wake up! Road!"

Tyki gave a weak smile as Road's eyelids fluttered open. He gently placed her down onto the ground. Road was weak and limp but she managed to look up at him.

"T-Tyki? What are you doing here?" asked Road. She looked around, dumbfounded. "What... where am I?"

Tyki grimaced. This didn't look good. He then turned to the girl. She was the only one standing in this battlefield. He could not believe Lenalee had done all this. Maybe she was pissed that Road was with Allen? Women... mysterious and dangerous.

"Road, can you manage to open an ark portal? We need to get out of here."

"Yes, sure..."

"Hey, Tyki! What's going on? ... Road?" "Road! Road's here too! Hehe!"

Road stood up and summoned a portal with a slow wave of her arm. A huge colourful door appeared at the other end of the corridor.

"Let's go now!"

Devit and Jasdero watched as Tyki dashed forward and grabbed 'Lenalee' by the waist. He turned and then came back to catch Road, throwing her onto his back. Road clutched onto Tyki as the man carried them both towards the door. Even when carrying two more people, Tyki ran like a gush of wind.

"I'm not waiting for you two if you don't follow closely!"

"Oi! Wait for us!" "Tee-hehe!"

The group made it out safely through the portal door, just in time before more exorcists and supporting staff came to investigate on the commotion. Among the group were Cross Marian and Lenalee.

"W-what happened here?" Lenalee looked around worriedly. Then she found Allen. She rushed over to him and nearly burst into tears. Why couldn't they ever find a moment to spend together peacefully? Why must one of them get injured? She wished she was the one being hurt instead of Allen. Now that Bookman had healed her, Allen was wounded.

"Excuse me, Lenalee." Cross Marian gently pushed Lenalee away from Allen. Before she could stop the General, the man picked Allen up and shook him like a rag doll. He then hurled the teen hard across the corridor. Allen smashed onto the ground with a painful wail.

"Are you awake now, stupid disciple?"

"M-master?"

Allen struggled to his feet. He stammered in fear as he saw the huge man stormed towards him.

"What happened here? Speak!"

Allen gapped open his mouth but he didn't know. He whimpered as he saw his master raised his fist. Luckily, Lenalee came to his rescue.

"Stop please! General Marian!"

"Lenalee? Lenalee! Are you alright?"

"Yes, Allen. I'm fine now. What happened to you? You look terrible!"

"I... I don't know, Lenalee. But I'm all better now seeing you! I -"

Allen was silenced by a cuddle. Lenalee held onto him tightly, burying his face onto her shoulder. She wept and refused to let go. Allen patted her on the back and tried to calm her down.

Seeing Lenalee stepping in-between himself and the boy, Cross snorted. His idiotic disciple had really got himself a fine woman. There was no use in questioning Allen. Obviously the teen was like the other exorcists, being attacked and not remembering anything. Cross turned and picked up another exorcist from the ground. He shook him several times but the swordsman was deep in exhaustion. He dropped him back onto the ground without mercy.

"Get up, Lavi! Lavi!" Bookman called out to Lavi. Getting no response from the fallen exorcist, the old man took out a sharp needle and pricked the youth on his temple. The result was satisfactory, Lavi jumped to his feet.

"Panda old man!"

"Don't call me that, brat! What happened here?"

"Huh? What happened? Didn't I just return from the mission?" Lavi scratched his face but then he felt the dull pain on his back. He thought he heard his bones just crackled. "Argh! What have you done to me, panda old man?"

Bookman turned to give Cross Marian a shrug and a hopeless look. Seeing there was nothing more they could do there, the two left the injured to the medical team. They hoped the science team could identify what happened to the youngsters later on.

"Aren't you going to clarify anything?" Reever muttered and gave Komui a little nudge. Komui and Reever were hiding behind a corner while witnessing the whole incident. That was the first and last time Komui ever set eyes on his beloved creation in action. His highly functional Lenalee Protector No.1! Komui suppressed a sniffle. He just realised he hadn't even given his baby a name yet.

"We must go save her!"

"What? You should be glad the Noahs took it with them!"

"But... what if they're going to do something pervert to her?"

"Please, Komui! That's a robot for God's sake!"

"B-but- "

"No more buts! You have done enough! Let's just keep this in silence. Everything should be fine after a while. No one will need to know what happened today."

"B-but... OH! LENALEE! MY LENALEEEEE!"

Reever applied a wrestling Master Lock technique to Komui just in time when the man saw Allen giving Lenalee a peck on her cheek. And Allen thought no one noticed them while everyone was busy tending to Kanda and Lavi.

"Come on! Back to work! Some real work! And leave everyone alone!"

Komui was pulled away in despair, leaving behind a trail of tears.

.

Tyki knocked on the door to Sheril's chamber. He inhaled deeply as he heard a low growl, permitting them to enter. He held onto the girl's hand gently. Was she too frightened? She was acting too unnaturally calm. Tyki tried not to look at her. He didn't know what he could say to her, not after he had shown her such affections before. Now, he was drawing her to her doom. The girl followed him without any resistance. He suddenly felt heavy. He believed this girl trusted him. The door swung open by itself and Tyki cautiously walked into the dark room, careful not to tangle himself in the near-invisible threads.

"Welcome back, my dear," smirked Sheril, his lips curled up into a sly grin. He sat like a king in a throne-like chair at the center of his chamber. His eyes shone of malice as he gestured Tyki to leave them.

"Sheril, what are you going to do?"

"That will be all, Tyki. You may leave."

"Sheril!"

"Leave us now Tyki."

"Sher-, my dear brother, tell me what you have in mind."

Sheril's face lit up upon hearing Tyki calling him 'dear brother'. It had been too long since Tyki being affectionate to him. He thought Tyki hated him for pushing him into a setup marriage.

"Oh, my beloved Tyki! I'll tell you everything! Anything you wish!"

Although Tyki felt goosebumps crawling all over him, he allowed Sheril to come up to give him a hug.

"I'm going to torture this girl and then turn her into an Akuma! Then I shall make her suffer even more! Finally, I will have her self-destruct!" Sheril purred, "And then, PUFF! Her soul will be forever beyond salvation!"

Tyki stole a glance over to the girl. The girl was looking at him. She smiled. Tyki saw a shimmer in her eyes and he pushed Sheril away.

_Is this it? Is this love? She loves me! She trusts me! She chooses me over Allen Walker!_

"No, Sheril!"

"Huh?"

"I'm not going to let you do that!"

"What are you talking about Tyki? Don't be afraid, you are forgiven, my beloved! I will not hurt you! You did well, you even bring back Road!"

"No, Sheril! I will not let you hurt her!"

_If this is love, then... I must protect her!_

Tyki grabbed the girl into his arms and he felt the threads surrounding them began to tighten. He shielded the girl in his embrace as the threads began to cut into his flesh. Still, Tyki refused to give in.

"Oh, Tyki, Tyki," Sheril shook his head and gave out a chuckle, "is this the woman you want? After all the troubles, you eventually choose her back?"

The threads cut in a little bit deeper. Blood soaked out from beneath Tyki's clothes.

"Give up! Let the threads go through! I only want the girl! It hurts me to shed your blood, Tyki! Stop protecting her! NOW!"

"NO!"

The girl observed as the two Noahs stared at each other in silence. Then she rested her head against Tyki's chest. She heard his heart beats loud and clear. Snuggling up against him, her eyes gleamed as the final set of programs began to activate in her head.

"Tyki, let her go. I will cut through you-"

"I will do everything and anything to protect her! Sheril, please let her go!" Tyki gritted his teeth as he tried hard to fight back the threads. He was holding onto the girl with only one arm now, his other arm was being pulled away from her by the threads.

"You do realise I can snap your arm off if I wish to, Tyki?"

"If that is what you wish for! I will not let you harm her! Over my dead body!"

"Tyki, why are you doing this? Stop this nonsense!"

"No, Sheril... I-I... I love her!"

Sheril blinked. What was that Tyki blurted out? He tried not to look too surprised. But really, he was utterly shocked. Tyki's face was now lit up like a tomato.

"Tyki, you mean it? You love this bit-, I mean, this sweet darling?" Sheril forced out a loving smile. "Then... are you ready to duel with Allen Walker?"

Tyki felt the threads loosen around him. He looked down at the girl and smiled. "Yes, I will challenge Allen Walker and I shall claim this love." He then leaned in, eager to plant a kiss on her head.

Before his lips touched her hair, the girl headbutted him hard. Tyki fell backwards but she caught him and pulled him back. She whispered softly into Tyki's ears and Tyki's eyes widened in terror.

The last thing Sheril remembered was the girl tilting her head and giggling sweetly. Then everything was left to be dug up from their minds by Waizurii much later.

.

They were hanging out in the local park again. It seemed this was their favourite spot to spend intimate moments together. Komui observed from behind the bushes as Lenalee took the baby back from Allen. The baby giggled and tugged on Allen's white hair. Lenalee laughed and caressed Allen's head, trying to soothe the pain. Komui did well to suppress his urge of barging in and sitting in-between the two. Suddenly, the image of the the couple and the baby formed a beautiful family photo in Komui's mind.

It was... sacred.

Komui sniffled and turned to leave. That would be the last time he skipped work to spy on the two.

"Oh, look! Mama's back!"

Lenalee pointed at a lady approaching them. The baby turned his head towards his mother and babbled in excitement. The woman retrieved her child and thanked Lenalee and Allen for looking after her baby. Allen waved goodbye to the child but the little devil paid no attention to him. Instead, the baby waved bye bye to Lenalee with his tiny hands.

"The child's so adorable. I wish I could be a mother soon too!" Lenalee sighed dreamily as she watched the woman exited the park with the baby. Hearing no response from Allen, she turned to him and found his face wonderfully bright red. She chuckled as he tried to avoid eye contact with her. He looked up at the sky above, pretending not to hear anything. Lenalee felt his arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer. She leaned onto him and gazed up at the sea of blue too.

It was another beautiful day.

-The End-


End file.
